


Brothers in Arms

by Tusk_Act_IV



Category: RWBY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 53,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26528119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tusk_Act_IV/pseuds/Tusk_Act_IV
Summary: In which Jaune Arc finds out that there are two Gods sealed in his family heirloom and tries to start his own religion.
Relationships: Jaune Arc & God of Light & God of Darkness
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters**

* * *

Crocea Mors.

The Yellow Death.

Initially wielded by Laetica Arc, the sword and shield combination was said to be the first mechashift weapon to be used in a major battle. The blade was said to render a mountain of Grimm into dust with a single swing. The shield was rumored to not bend even under the pressure of a Goliath's full stomp.

Many an Arc had wielded it into battle yet it has never been said to have failed the family name. Many a hero it had created and saved. It was just as much an heirloom to their family as the very blood running through their veins.

The sword promised victory.

The shield promised glory.

To the wielder, to the next Arc hero, Crocea Mors would be the first stop to becoming a legend.

And that person would be, him, Jaune Arc.

"Yeah, I don't buy it."

Jaune turned to his sister next to him, pouting on her interruption and lack of faith. Didn't she see he was on a roll? That this was meant to be his moment. His look of indignation did not change her own skeptical one, however.

"I mean, isn't that just what Violet uses to get something under the couch." Saphron had never heard any of these so called "legends" on the family heirloom. She had seen it used to get the remote when it fell out fo reach beneath the couch.

"You just don't get it, Saphron." Jaune shook his head, unbelieving of his sister's lack of faith and whimsy. as he really the only one who went to visit nana to hear of old Arc tales?

"What I do get though is that you're still trying to be a Hunter." Saphron turned a pointed look at him. "Didn't Dad tell you to give up on that stuff?"

"Dad will warm up to it." was Jaune's flippant reply. Both their father and mother had been against Jaune when he randomly declared that he wanted to be a Huntsman. It was obvious that their warnings didn't stick to her fifteen year old brother.

Saphron turned from her brother to the weapon he was still staring at. It didn't even look that impressive as Jaune's eyes shined better than the dusty old heirloom.

Well, it wasn't really her place to judge. As his Sister, she'd support him by not interesting with what he wanted to do. A passive support for siblings. Besides, if it really was dangerous than she knew her parents and the others would step in.

For now, she'd support his dreams in the best way a sister should.

"Well, good luck with that. If you're really going to use the old reacher than make sure to give it a good polish. Although, don't go polishing your sword too much eh?"

She nudged Jaune with her elbow but frowned when he didn't react to her entrendre. Terra would have loved that one. Maybe, she should go send it to her.

Jaune didn't even turn as his sister went back up the stairs and left him alone in the basement. He was too busy admiring his future partners, his ticket out of his house and into the history books.

He just stood there in silence, almost as if he was waiting for something to happen. it It was just him and Crocea Mors. In Jaune's head, he saw himself wielding the pair out to battle Grimm, a fair maiden by his side. And they were both on horses. The fantasy drew a goofy grin on hs face.

Maybe...

Jaune took a quick glance up the steps. Even if it was impossible, he also tried to ehar if anyone else was nearby.

"..."

Nothing.

Knowing the coast was clear, the blonde reached up and took the heirloom from their place on the wall. Sword in one hand and shield in another, Jaune Arc did the one thing any boy his age would do.

"Swish! Pow! Take that!" With exaggerated sounds from his mouth, Jaune slashed, bashed, and did stuff he thought would look cool if anyone was watching. Moves he has seen in movies and videos.

If anyone were to see him right now, the first thought they'd think of would be-

[Pathetic]

Jaune froze. While it was true, the weapons were much heavier than he had expected, he had stopped for a different reason.

[He's too tired to even keep me up for five minutes.]

Again, suddenly, a voice had spoken up from...somewhere. Jaune looked around the Arc family basement, looking for the source of the voice. "Hello?"

No reply.

He turned his eyes, to seek for one of his sisters or even a speaker. May had once tricked him into believing there was a ghost with a hidden speaker.

"If that's you May, this isn't funny! Saphron already told me ghosts don't exist."

[Oh great. Now he's even scared of ghosts.]

"I'm not scared of any ghosts!" Jaune yelled back, though he did hold his weapons closer. Just in case.

For a moment, there was silence once more. And then, the same voice spoke up.

[You can hear me?]

"Yeah, of course, I can hear you!" Jaune was now really on edge. The voice was now addressing him. Was he really having a conversation with the dead? "And I'm not afraid, you hear?"

[...Interesting. You are the first to have heard me since that bitch locked me in here.]

Bitch? Jaune didn't know what the voice spoke was saying. "Well, you're welcome to leave. There's no need for any ghosts in my house!"

[Ghost? I'm no ghost, son of man.]

It was then that Jaune realized that the voice wasn't coming from anywhere specific. Rather, it sounded like it came directly from his noggin.

He also realized his shield was glowing purple.

"Ah!" With a totally not girlish shriek, Jaune tossed the shield aside as if it was on fire. The shield clanged, noisily on the floor before finally settling down.

[Hey! Watch it!]

As if conforming his thoughts, the shield glowed purple every time the voice spoke up.

"W-what are you?!" half-asked half-demanded Jaune as he used both of his hands to point his sword at the shield in front of him.

The shield, ghost, spirit, whatever it was remained silent.

Jaune continued to point the sword at the shield but eventually, after what had to be five minutes of no reply and his own aching arms, he slowly lowered his weapon.

Maybe, he had just imagined it?

[Son of Arc!]

And just as he lowered his guard, the shield spoke up, glowing an other worldly purple that filled the room with light.

[You ask who I am? I am the spirit of this weapon! The very one who has led every Arc into battle! I have chosen you as the next hero, worthy of wielding me!]

Jaune's jaw dropped just like the sword in his hands. "So...so you're really the Crocea Mors?"

[...sure. Anyways, you wanted to be a hero or something, right?]

"Yes! Of course!" Jaune nodded, his mind going a mile a minute. This was just like his Mistrallian comics! He always knew he was going to become a hero! "I'm going to become a Hunter and save people from the Grimm!"

[Then Son of Arc, pick up that sword and repeat after me.]

Jaune did so, holding the sword in a salute he had seen other hunters use on television.

By Shield of Dark of unlit night,

Make Destruction and Creation's paths unite.

Let all past Knowledge and Choice rewrite;

Awaken sword of unseen Light!

As soon as Jaune yelled the final words, he expected something to happen. He wasn't entirely sure what. Maybe, the sword would glow? Maybe, angels would appear to crown him? Even a certificate popping up would have been better than nothing.

However, nothing was what he got. He was still alone holding a heavy sword in his parent's basement. He decided to bring it up with the spirit. "Is...is something supposed to happen?"

[Well, it takes a while for a new spell to work. I had to make it on the spot after all]

"Spells, what are you-" Whatever thoughts Jaune had was stopped as he suddenly felt something. He wasn't entirely sure what it was but something was being done to his body. If he were to describe it he felt as if he was getting more and more tired as time went on, like he was being drained.

"What's...going..."

Jaune dropped to his knees, his hand still holding the sword. If he had tried, he may have noticed he wouldn't be able to let go even if he wanted to. He struggled, trying to keep himself up but eventually he fell face flat on the floor of the basement

All the while the shield was silent, not saying a word to Jaune's struggles.

[What...how am I...]

A voice spoke out. Jaune would have thought of it as his own but he was too tired to even move his mouth. Now, he found it hard enough to keep his eyes open. As his mind fell into darkness, he could barely catch what sounded like a conversation.

[Brother! You have awakened!]

[Brother? So this was your doing? What...what have you done?]

[I fed you enough so you can awaken! Together, we could finally free ourselves and-]

[What have you done!? All of his potential! All gone!]

Hearing those last words, Jaune Arc blacked out.

When Jaune woke to, he wasn't really surprised that now the sword was talking too. it was just unfortunate that he didn't suddenly grow abs after his transformation much like in the movies.

[Greetings. I am the God of Light. My brother told me you are Jaune correct?]

Sitting on the floor cross-legged, Jaune nodded. Compared to the purple glow of the shield, whenever the sword spoke, a yellow light accompanied it. It took another moment for Jaune to realize that the sword probably couldn't see him nod.

"Yeah, I'm Jaune, you're next hero." Jaune couldn't help but grin. This was just like his comic books. A sealed god in a weapon, a chosen hero, this was all the makings of an legendary adventure.

[Well then, Jaune, I'd like to first thank you for awakening me even if my brother had to trick you to do so.]

"Wait. Trick? Wasn't this just how to awaken my powers or something?" Jaune blinked at his words. "Wasn't he the spirit of Crocea Mors?"

[That is not entirely accurate. He is no spirit but the God of Darkness. He made you cast a new spell to transfer all of your current and future aura reserves to me. It was just enough to awaken me. I'd like to apologize for what you unintentionally had given up yet thank you all the same.]

"It's no problem." Jaune really didn't know what this aura thing the sword was talking about but it couldn't have been that important if he got a talking sword for a trade. "So what happened exactly?"

The sword's voice grew solemn as it spoke once more. [I can not ascertain when but my brother and I were summoned once more and sealed into these vassals. Eventually, most of my power faded away and I remained dormant until you had awoken me once more.]

[It's because you were used to kill the Grimm while I had to be stuck taking their hits] The shield nearby spoke up, purple light mixing in with the yellow.

"I...I think I get it." Jaune suddenly stood up. He's read enough comics and played enough games to figure out what to do next. "So, to save the world, I need to go out and recover your powers right?"

This was just like Ephemeral End.

[If you are willing to, then yes.] answered the sword. [A part of my power resides in four relics that I had created in the past. If you can find them, I can absorb their power and perhaps do something about my current state.]

Four crystals or macguffins to find? Check.

[As for me,] the shield spoke up. [All you need to do is to kill Grimm. The more Grimm you kill, the more energy I collect. The stronger the Grimm, the better.]

Leveling up mechanic? Check.

[Jaune Arc, will you be...]

"Yes! Of course, I'll help! This is the kind of thing I've been waiting for!" Jaune practically screamed. This was what he needed to do! This was what he had dreamed of! Recognition! Glory! Legend!

Today, started the beginning of his own epic saga!

"I'll be your hero!"

[Excellent, Excellent. However there seems to be a misunderstanding.]

The words of the sword brought Jaune back down from his high. He looked down at the glowing sword. If it had a face, he felt like it'd be averting it's eyes."What do you mean?"

[You see, Jaune. While it is true that my brother and I can regain our abilities through the relics or the slaying of Grimm, those are just minor boosts at best. What we really need is something else.]

"I'm not following."

A purple aura answered Jaune's confusion. [You see son of man, we don't need a hero. Rather, what we really want is a prophet.]

"Saph, can you call Jaune? Dinner's ready."

"Fine." At the behest of her mother, Saphron Arc got up from the family couch and headed to the basement where she last saw her brother.

As she headed down the stairs, she could hear slight conversation although the only voice she heard was Jaune's own. It almost sounded like he was talking to himself.

When she finally reached the bottom, she noticed a few things. First was that Jaune had taken down Crocea Mors and both the sword and shield were now on the table in front of him. Next was that her brother looked to be painting something on what looked ot be a wooden board.

"Mom's calling." was her only greeings to say that she was there. Her brother didn't look up so she moved closer, enough to look over his shoulder. "Whatcha doing?"

"Well, Saff." Her brother turned to her and looked up with those big blue Arc eyes of his. Uncertainty and a sense of resignment were reflected in those pools. "I'm starting my own religion."

In front of him, painted in white and black, the words "Brotherhood of Shadow"

Saphron Arc took one look at the sign and then turned around to yell back up at the house.

"Moooom! Jaune's starting a cult!

* * *

AN: You know that feeling when you literally need to right something just because of the title? I thought up the pun and it wouldn't go away in my mind so I shit this out in two hours.

So anyways, basically I thought what to do if the GoD and GoL were sealed in Crocea Mors. Now, the easy way was to have Jaune be a uber badass who kicks ass with these godly companions. However, that shit is boring. Like what the fuck would you do with that story that hasn't been done before?

So instead, Jaune has to start his own religion/cult to get people to start worshipping the two Gods again so they may regain their power. Think going for a religious victory in Civilization. Initially, Jaune would have been a kid but I thought that having him go to Beacon as this weird missionary would be fun. Give him three years to get started.

Also, yes, he has no aura. It's a balancer when you have two creation gods stuck in your weapons.

Finally, don't ask about DR fics please. I'll still do some when I feel like it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters.

* * *

When Saphron had heard her brother wanted to start a cult (well, in his own words, "bring back a long dead religion), a plethora of emotions had gone through her.

Shock, surprise, even a small pinch of curiosity before settling down to a state of "eh".

To be fair, that was how Saphron reacted to most things.

She, however, also felt an odd combination of apprehension and excitement for what was to come. It sounded downright fantastical, that her younger brother was about to go out and start his own religion. There wasn't much for a young lady like her left to do in Ansel before she moved out to Mistral in the upcoming months. Getting wrapped up in some wacky adventure seemed like the perfect way to cap-off moving out of her home town.

It would have provided a hell of a story for Terra too.

Unfortunately, Saphron had forgotten something important.

Said thing was lazily sitting on their family couch, using the old family heirloom to switch the channel of their TV. Oddly enough, followed by placing it on the seat next to him, as if it was watching along with him.

That's right. Saphron had forgotten her brother, Jaune Arc was…to put it nicely, flippant.

Jaune was the type to get excited about one thing and then totally forget about it. Poet? His poetry was awful and he gave up in a month after realizing he couldn't make a living out of it. Musician? They had a guitar also known as the hat rack 2.0. Dance Guru? That one did last but it was a shame his dance troupe broke apart. Also, that you apparently needed more than one person to be in one.

The latest one that had lasted for quite a while was Hunter. Saphron blamed the comics for that one. The worst part was that this one was rather dangerous so when Jaune had declared he wanted to start a religion or something everyone in the family happily went with the asinine idea. Even if it would be somewhat ironic that the only Arc son would become some sort of priest.

And now, it seemed that had reached its end.

Saphron approached her brother on the couch, eyeing the large stack of (hand-made) flyers next to him.

"How'd the haul go today?"

"Nothing, as usual." Jaune replied, eyes still on the TV. "I don't get why it's so hard to get people to join up my newly made religion."

"Well…" Saphron took one of the flyers. All it had printed on it was some weird symbol and that cult-y name. "It would help if people knew exactly what this was about? Like what would they gain from this?"

It had been two weeks and even Saphron herself didn't know what it was. From the few times she asked her brother, all she could get were some vague answers about believing in the Two Brothers or something. It sounded like even Jaune didn't know what he was offering which must have led to him not getting anyone to join him up.

From the way he came home every night with a stack of untouched flyers, it seemed like that was the case. It was almost sad how unprepared he was but Saphron liked to think her brother was smarter than that and would first think of the necessities in things before jumping into them.

Well, it wasn't like he would've tried to become a hunter without any prior training or experience, right?

As if to prove her point, Jaune turned to her and shrugged. "I don't know. The knowledge that something out there is helping you or that there's a power out there you can believe in wholeheartedly?"

"Like Mom to her soap operas?" Saphron shook the flyer in her hand. "I mean, if you're really serious about this than why did you choose a fairy tale of all things?"

"Uhm…" Jaune quickly glanced to Crocea Mors before shrugging. "It came to me in a dream?"

"And why the Two Brothers of all things? That will definitely draw away the female crowd." Sapphron paused for a moment in thought. "Or maybe not for a certain type."

"You got me there Saph." Jaune shook his head before suddenly glaring to Crocea Mors by his side. "What? How was I supposed to know you both didn't have any down there?"

Sapphron ignored the spectacle of Jaune arguing with the weapon. This new habit of his was somewhat worrisome and the family were close to staging an intervention but they instead decided to use the resources for that for Saphron's going away fund which she didn't mind at all. If she could get herself a nicer apartment with Terra than Jaune could talk to his weapon as much as he wants. Besides, the twins had theorized Jaune was just jealous of how they both finished each other's sentences.

Better than calling it his babies or whatever. Now that was for full socially awkward weirdos.

She turned back to the flyer while Jaune turned back to the television blaring something about a Solar Eclipse later. While they've had their fair share of them, this one was being quite hyped up as it was a rare once in a century or moment when the moon's debris wasn't too far apart from each other and created a perfect circle. Although what did draw Sapphron's attention was the symbol on the flyer. It was oddly familiar and, knowing her brother, was downright plagiarized by something he had seen in the attic. After all, the only comic book characters he had come up with were knock-offs like Y-ray and Ziz.

"Hey, bro. Where'd you get this symbol anyways?"

"Uhh…someone told me about it."

"Weren't you the only one down there in the attic when you made it?"

"I meant, someone told me about it before and I realized it would be a great symbol for my religion." Jaune obviously lied which Sapphron let go. Whatever. Still, it was oddly…

"Ah!" Having an epiphany, the female Arc lifted a fist in the air, unintentionally also crumping the flyer Jaune had worked hard on in her hand. "Now, I remember! Wasn't this the same one on the old shrine out back?"

Being kids in a rural area, there was not much to do in Ansel except to explore the nearby forest. It a place that was surprisingly void of Grimm and the Arc siblings had used that for many a game of hide and seek. And, in the barest of Saphron's memories, was a set of steps that led to an old abandoned shrine…or hobo shack. Hard to say with how dilapidated and overrun by nature it was.

Really, she only remembered it because she could never forget being dared by everyone else to go in only to be run away when she heard something moving nearby. That symbol had been the first thing she noticed before screaming and getting the dodge out of there.

Such a test of courage was an Arc sibling tradition, done when a sibling turned thirteen. No doubt Jaune must have stolen it from there when it was his turn, even unconsciously.

Saphron turned back to the sofa, excited to explain to Jaune to what she found…only to find him missing. The family heirloom that had been next to him was missing as well. The wind coming in grabbed Saphron's attention to see that the front door was now open, as if someone had fled and would definitely be punished for not closing it properly.

Could it be?

Meanwhile, Jaune, who had just gotten up to get a soda, bringing along with him Crocea Mors, froze. His eyes widened.

Of course! The old shrine out back! Maybe, that could give him a hint on what to do next!

He should definitely check that out…after he got his snack. No need to rush, it wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

Jaune brought his arm down once more, the sword in his hand cleaving through with little to no resistance. His sword that hadn't been once maintained throughout all those decades it hadn't been used was somehow as sharp as any other weapon.

A path of destruction was all that was left from his wake. His right arm was already aching just from holding up Crocea Mors, much less swinging it any longer. Yet it felt like he wasn't even half way through with his battle.

Willing his body to move, Jaune grit his teeth as he raised the sword once more and swung down, letting gravity help with powering its slice.

The tree branch fell, having been chopped off its owner. It joined the other various branches and shrubberies that Jaune has cut down as he made his way through one of Ansel's many backwoods.

_Odd. It does seem like there truly aren't any Grimm here._

A voice spoke up in Jaune's head, its inflections almost synchronizing with the yellow glow of Crocea Mors. It was almost as if the weapon was talking but the sound didn't come from it.

"Well, yeah." The sole prophet replied, in between huffs. It was nice to be able to talk to the gods without anyone looking at him funny. "This part of the woods never had any Grimm. I think it's because no one lives here so nothing draws them in is what I heard."

_While the Son of Man is right in one sense, he was also wrong in the other. The Grimm lands were teeming with Grimm and no one dared live there even if they wanted to. Either something is keeping the Grimm out...or eliminated them regularly._

This time the shield, still in its sheath mode hanging by his waist, glowed purple as the God of Darkness spoke up. Jaune found it unfair that he was the only one able to see these glows when they spoke up while the rest of his family couldn't

_That must mean this shrine being devoted to us can hold some truth. Even now I feel a slight pull towards its direction._

_No, that's just from all the swinging the human is doing. Well, even a base will do for now._

_Indeed. We should've started with getting a shrine set up before recruitment. Rather than coming to the masses, they first need a place to know where to find us like of old._

"People used to do that?"

_Back when we were still of this world, yes._ The God of Light agreed. _It was always odd that that initially brought me young sheep only to kill them in front of me. It took a while before the humans got that out of their system._

"And you did what they asked for? Wishes?"

_While I am no Djinn, I did grant favors within reason. As long as it wasn't asking for much._

_Which meant he never did._ Interrupted the God of Darkness. _Understand Son of Man that the age back then was when humans could still use magics of their own. You can only imagine the kind of requests mortals who could already control the elements would need a God for._

"Like what? Bringing back the dead?" A silence was the only reply Jaune receive, one he could tell was not from a lack of answer but forcibly given. As he cut down another branch, he changed the topic. "So, they went to both of you for favors, I think I get that. Was there a difference? Or just preference?

Silence was back only this time it was definitely the type where the God of Darkness didn't want to speak up. In his stead, the God of Light answered.

_For whatever reason, my sibling resided in lands that were teeming with Grimm and dangerous obstacles so rarely would there be a person who'd come to him._

_...few did. Only the most desperate. I only wanted to hear those that would dare traverse such lands to ask the favor of a God._

Still, Jaune thought, as he cut down a particularly thick foliage, it sounded much lonelier than necessary.

_I can sense your rude thoughts, Son of Man._

Before Jaune could react, the purple light that enveloped his shield disappeared. He could almost imagine hearing a condescending "Hmph!".

Trying not to feel too bad about what he couldn't have prevented, Jaune shook his head and continued making a path through the overgrown forest. Of course, he wasn't just doing this for the exercise or needless destruction.

If he created a straight path here to the shrine then it would be easy for people to visit. Or, at least, that was the plan. As he swatted down another innocent tree branch, something the God of Darkness had mentioned popped up in his head.

"Hey, uh. God of Light?" He stopped mid-swing to address the sword, or the god in the sword. "You sure you're okay with this."

_It is of no concern Jaune. Being trapped in a sword is not the same as having your body trapped in a swinging device. There are no organs that trigger nausea or anything that would simulate the feeling of being dizzy. As I am, I am just a sword. It is still quite refreshing to have been awoken after so long."_

Jaune couldn't even begin to wrap his head around the idea. Even if he imagined it, he still would think of it as his body substituting for his weapon with his torso for the blade. Or would that be his legs? His arms?

"Also, is it really okay if I use you like this?" 'This' being a glorified hedge trimmer. "Your power won't run out?"

_I suppose it is a good time to bring it up. My brother's spell had connected all three of us together. You now only have the slimmest amounts of what you humans call aura as it had used up your future potential reserves as well._

"Like...time travel?"

_Not entirely. Whether you die today or in the next century, you humans have potential. That was tapped into to not only reawaken me but also to link all three of us together. To put it plainly, it was as if you traded your ability to ever drive one of those automobiles to walk alongside my brother and I._

"So, I lost all of this aura, right?" Whatever that was. "I can't use it?"

_That you still have it is part of our connection. However, it is rather minimal. I believe you should be able to take exactly one hit before it breaks, no matter how strong or how weak the blow is._

"Huh."

So, a onetime save? Jaune could live with that. Who needed a force field when he had a shield anyways? Putting aside any of his other worries, Jaune continued his "gardening" while the God of Light quieted down, perhaps to conserve energy.

After around an hour what felt like a full work-out, Jaune had never been so glad to see a set of stairs, forgetting entirely that he still had to climb it. His arm was numb, he was breathing heavily, and his heart felt like it was about to explode out of his chest. Thankfully, he had only come in his trademark Pumpkin Pete hoodie and jeans.

He'd probably have fainted half way if he had tried on some armor. Maybe he should have listened to all those times his sisters told him to start training if he wanted to be a Hunstman?

However, just as Jaune was about to face plant himself on the steps, he felt his body freeze. Not from the muscle failure, but from a soft sound.

Ring.

It sounded like a bell.

_Something is there._

The God of Darkness spoke up, having come back from his exile. Jaune felt it too. An overpowering stare that threatened and pushed down on his whole being. And it was coming from above.

Feeling the tire in his body be replaced by wary and worry, Jaune looked up. More on instinct, his shield was out and raised.

At the top of the steps stood a beast he had never seen before. Its light grey body was almost as tall as he was even if it was just sitting up on its hind, with the front right foot propped up on a large marble ball the size of his head. Its legs were muscular, each one looking as thick as a tree trunk. He'd have called it a lion but it looked too fierce to be one with the head resembling closer to the dragons he'd seen in picture books.

But what really drew his breath were the flames. The mane and tale curled like white hot fire. They shifted in place as if they were live flames. Even its hot breath created steam, it's large muscular chest softly moving the golden bell attached to a gold necklace it wore.

On instinct, he knew this was what had always scared his sisters when they went up here. Not just them...possibly even the Grimm. While it sat there regally, watching him with a judging stare, Jaune knew it could pounce on him on a moment's notice, crushing his skull with one swipe of its paws.

He tried, out of pure self-preservation, to raise his sword once more but his arm, having never swung a sword in his life, was practically numb after all that forest slashing. He could've switched it to his other hand but knew having a working arm hold up his heavier shield was more important.

At least, his mouth was still working.

"That's..."

_...Not a Grimm._

Jaune's eyes widened at the God of Darkness' words. That thing, the beast before him, wasn't a Grimm!? Just what were they feeding the animals here in Ansel!? He knew he was in the right when told his mom they shouldn't have started to use those super fertilizers that made larger crops! Now they created large flame lions!

All for what, mom? Larger than usual tomatoes!? He preferred them cherry sized, thank you.

W-well, he had two (depowered) gods, right? There was no way he'd lose...probably.

With what he hoped was an impressive stance, Jaune raised the sword in one hand to awkwardly tap his shield in the other. He hoped it would show dominance, that there was no need to fight.

That only had the flame beast get up from its resting position on all fours, its tail of white blue flames even more apparent now. The rest of its body lacked fur so the tensing of powerful muscles underneath grey smooth skin was apparent. Even nature itself seemed to hold its breath, as the wind dramatically stopped.

...Welp, it was a good life.

Jaune raised the shield before him, closing his eyes and bracing for the impact of death.

He waited...and waited...any time now.

When his bones still weren't crushed, Jaune dared to open his eyes to see the beast still up there, still watching him, before, finally, turning around and walking back to the shrine.

"Is it...not going to attack?" Jaune asked warily, peeking out from over his shield to the now absent beast.

_I believe it means you no harm for now. Rather than an attacker, that animal felt more like a guardian._

_If it wanted us destroyed, Son of Man, it would have done so without revealing itself._

Both made a fairly good point, the God of Darkness even more so with how monstrous the thing looked. So, with his past fatigue behind him and also thanks to a healthy dose of not wanting to keep the thing waiting, Jaune made his way up the long set of stairs.

When he finally got to the top, the beast was nowhere to be seen with only the image of the old Shrine entering his view.

The Shrine was still as rundown as it was in Jaune's memories, maybe even more so, as he walked up to the entrance. It was probably mostly red like the pictures he's seen of such in his Minstralian comics but time and overgrown moss could only leave him guessing. The pointed roof had holes where sunlight seeped through. The building was, at least, rather tall, something definitely majestic in its heyday.

When he finally reached the main entrance, the doors were already open, if they had ever been closed. The wooden sliding double doors were wrapped in moss and vines, another hint that they had been open for a long while now, possibly even since the last time he's been there.

He couldn't remember if he ever closed the things during his test of courage.

The main building of the shrine was really just one large area. The holes on the roof provided great illumination to what was on the ground, a large image of the symbol Jaune had made up back when he had first met the two Gods.

A large Yin Yang sign was sprawled across the ground.

The large bicolored sphere drew his attention the most as there wasn't anything else that could really be called worth looking at. On one wall was a large board with nails sticking out of it. There were a few pieces of wood hanging from it but it was mostly worn down and clearly needed replacement. The walls of the shrine didn't hold any images and if they did, they had faded long over time.

At least the colors of the four central pillars were still there, although that may have been just from their build of presumably marble and obsidian with two white and the two others black.

Jaune made his way to the center of the shrine, right at the center of the symbol on the floor, but glancing around it really was just empty. No doubt robbers, animals, or just the simple passage of time had ridden of anything inside.

Was this really going to be his new base?

"So, you guys can't just use magic to fix this place up?" He asked his weapons hopefully.

_If we had more power, perhaps. But for now the best we could do is glow,_ replied the God of Light. _I'll admit it does need some work._

_Are you kidding? This is already better than any shrine I had._

_May I remind you, brother, that you didn't have a shrine. Just the landscape of destroyed earth._

There was a pause and Jaune had the oddest feeling if his shield could shrug it would. Still, this didn't exactly fill him with confidence.

Perhaps jumping into this whole prophet thing without much thought was a bad idea?

_Jaune!_

_Behind you!_

Two voices yelled in his head and, more in instinct than practice, Jaune turned around, barely avoided tripping over his feet, and raised his shield to meet face to face with the beast he saw earlier.

It was close, barely a few feet away. There was no time to attack to defend. He might as well have been already dead.

However, the large beast, instead of raising a claw or leaping at him, simply lowered its head to drop something by Jaune's feet. Something dark shaped like a rectangle besides the slightly larger triangle on the top.

Jaune held up his weapons, unsure of what to do and hoping he could catch any sudden attacks. The beast stood unmoving, never having moved after having dropped whatever it was. It almost felt like it was waiting. Waiting for him.

After another tense minute, the Arc swallowed.

"I…I think I have a bad idea."

Slowly, Jaune started to crouch, never once taking his eyes off the monster. Leaning down he took the piece of wood with his free hand, his shield strapped to his arm. He then held it up to give it a good look. The paper pasted to it was faded yellow but, somehow, the words written in thick dark black ink was still as clear as ever.

Please protect the shrine.

After taking a few seconds to digest what he read, Jaune looked up from the wood and to the towering beast before him. For the first time since they met, Jaune didn't feel any fear from it. It all seemed to click in to place.

This was a promise made with someone.

Someone had written this down as a wish and the creature before him had enrolled itself to do so. This had been a shrine after all, a place where people prayed and entrusted their wishes to.

"You...you've been doing this the whole time."

A mighty nod.

For a second, Jaune could look past his terror and see the beast for what it was, a guardian of the shrine. A place that not even the Grimm dared to thread. Past its aura of power, he could see multiple scars and scratches that littered its body. Just how long had this been there?

"And now..." Jaune took a glance back down to read the words once more before looking back up. "You're entrusting this to me...to us?"

No reply this time. The beast just watched Jaune it's body as still as a statue besides it's flowing fiery hair.

Jaune considered for a moment. The guardian in front of him was strong, it radiated power. No Grimm existed in the forest either due to its actions or just from the pure aura of it. And here he was, already exhausted from just making his way over here from just cutting down tree branches.

The differences between the two were too obvious.

"And you think it'd be okay?"

Again, no reply. It seemed the beast wouldn't make the choice for him.

If he accepted this now, there was no turning back anymore. He wouldn't be able to quit or change his mind like his previous trivialities. Because if he agreed to hold onto this, then he'd be taking over the promise on the wooden plaque.

And an Arc never goes back on their word.

But then again...hadn't he already pledged himself when he met those two Gods? Wasn't this everything he wanted to be?

A poet? He'd make his own bible.

Musician? He'd make his own hymns.

Huntsman? When wasn't there Grimm to deal with it?

In the end, one factor was what decided it: That this chance was thrust upon him in the first place.

His family was supportive, sure, but in a way that they knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish something. They'd accept what he wanted to do but there was never any support, just the knowing looks that he'd be right back where he went.

The two gods entrusted him with a mission, more forced out of circumstance than anything. They didn't really have a choice at this point. He was sure if they weren't powerless, they wouldn't be here with him.

Friends...what friends?

The sad truth of Jaune Arc's life was that this was the first time anyone had believed he could do anything. And it took a giant muscular monster to do it. Did it say he could do it? No. But it had offered the chance for him to prove himself which was more than anyone had ever expected of him.

And Jaune wasn't going to let it down.

"I'll do it."

**Roar!**

The guardian beast threw its head back to let out a loud bellow. It wasn't the primal beastly roar Jaune expected but it sounded closer to the sound of a gong being struck, an echo stretched out by the deep clanging of bells.

The beast gave one last look at Jaune, eyes like marble filled with expectation before it went back to the pose it had made when he had first seen it: back straight as it sat up, with one paw on the ball it carried with it.

Amazingly, its skin, which shone with a grey luster, started to turn darker and it was only after a few moments, when even its glowing mane darkened, did Jaune realize what was happening. Its expression hardened, not from any facial movements, but from the tip of its face to every muscle on its body turning into a dark grey stone.

However, as the beast turned more and more inanimate, the orb it held on its paw started to grow brighter and brighter. It was as if it was absorbing all color, all life, from the turning creature. When the process had almost finished, when all that was left was a fantastical statue, the light coming from the orb was already glowing brighter than the sunlight leaking above.

_Could this be?_

_It seems so. With this much power, we may at least regain our forms._

"Wait, so you could use whatever that is?" Jaune spoke up. "So, you guys will have bodies now?"

Would that mean he'd lose his weapons? Or have to carry them around?

_Ha-ha! Be honored, Son of Man._ For once, the God of Darkness actually sounded excited. Jaune would dare think of it as joy. _You will be the first in millennia to witness our godly containers. Just to warn you, I may not hold back and just unleash my dragon form right here._

_Brother, we do not want to destroy the shrine._ The God of Light sounded more restrained but Jaune could easily pick up the pure relief in his voice. _Jaune Arc, please allow us to touch the orb._

Jaune had no reason to deny their request. If what they had told them was true, they had been locked into his family heirlooms for what sounded like centuries. Did his family really go back that far?

Anyways, the light from the orb was starting to hurt his eyes so Jaune complied. He raised up the still sheathed sword with one arm and the other to shield him from the obnoxious luminosity.

He then lightly tapped the end of the sheath of Crocea Mors to the orb.

Jaune wasn't prepared to be blown back by a sudden force that could have rivaled a bomb. He didn't even have time to realize his aura had activated to protect him, immediately breaking from the force created. His whole body was knocked of its feet and landed with a thud.

He hadn't even noticed how the shrine had started to darken. Up above the streams of sunlight were softening as, unbeknownst to Jaune, the time for the solar eclipse had arrived.

All across the planet, people looked into the sky to see darkness creep up on the bright ball in the sky, light only being able to escape from its edges. After a few more moments, the dark circle centered in front of the sun, as if it was only a single holy ring that lit up the sky.

As the whole Arc family looked up at rare phenomenon, Sappron had to wonder where her brother was. His specially made eclipse viewing glasses, framed with butterflies and glitter, were on the table unused.

As all of Remnant looked up at the sky, no one, not even the people at Ansel, noticed the explosion of light that escaped upwards from the nearby forest up to the total solar eclipse above. The beam swirled a color of purple and yellow, shooting up into the sky as if to reach out to escape the planet and reach the heavenly bodies themselves.

None were able to witness the event that happened in the small shrine which was more monumental than even the one above.

Not the Wizard in his chair.

Not the Witch in her castle.

Only one.

Jaune Arc stood up, his body aching. His back hurt like it had been smashed through a table. Still, such things didn't matter as he got up and witnessed the tower of spiraling dualities rushing into the sky. His blonde hair was blown back by the wind but his feet stayed firm as he made his way close to it. He didn't have to move far as it had taken up the whole space the yin yang symbol did.

His blue eyes stayed high above, almost as if, on instinct, he knew that something was coming. Maybe it was the way he was linked to them or maybe it was that he had been created by them but Jaune knew he was meant to witness this.

The Return of the Gods.

When the swirling lights started to slow down, Jaune held his breath. His eyes widened as he waited to bear witness to what a true god looked like.

Finally, the tower dissipated into a brilliant shower of glowing particles, both gold and violet. Jaune looked up the space above, breath still bated, to see what had happened.

He only found empty space.

Still holding his breath (and getting slightly dizzy from it), he turned his head left and right to see if he missed them. Even from the giant hole that the pillar had punched through the shrine's roof, the sky was oddly missing what Jaune assumed to be godly beings.

Maybe, it was because they were already godly that he couldn't comprehend them? Something like they'd be too much for his mortal form to comprehend?

Jeez, he really should've brought those Eclipse glasses.

Just as he was about to faint from lack of oxygen, a shrill shriek from below made Jaune gasp in surprise.

He turned to the sound of the voice to see a sight even odder than the Shrine Beast, the large pillar of swirling light, and when Saphron tried to cook.

"Oww…"

"Just…what is this stinging sensation?"

At the center of the shrine, the middle of the now visible Yin-Yang symbol, were two girls unceremoniously sprawled across the floor. Jaune would guess a little younger than him, looking around the same as his sisters did in phots when they were thirteen to fourteen.

One had short dark auburn hair matched with soft red eyes. She wore a loose white garb that resembled a simple summer dress. On her arms were absurdly loose white sleeves that reached to her wrists. Wrapped by her shoulders was a long pale cloth that ended with bronze armaments. The oddest part was the large mirror hanging by her neck along with the golden headdress that bore the symbol of the sun on her forehead.

She looked to be having a hard time breathing.

The other had long flowing inky black hair, much darker than the others. She wore a dark once piece dress with pale gold highlights thought it was hard to notice with how translucent white cloth layered over it, held up by an obsidian chest plate with two red tassels. She too wore absurdly loose sleeves, black gold highlights that matched her dress. However, the bottom of those sleeves was cut up to look like black tendrils for whatever reason. Over her head was a silver halo that didn't look to be suspended by anything.

She also looked to not know how to breath, with there were inconsistent gasps of air in between moments of stillness.

He blankly stared at them, not knowing what to think or feel as he watched both girls struggle to even get up on their hands and knees. It looked like they didn't even know how to stand.

Either as an answer sent from the literal heavens or as a giant fuck you, a paper floated down from the sky and levitated before Jaune.

He held it in both hands as he read it.

_Yahello, descendent!_

_It seems you have stumbled upon my biggest blunder. LOL_

_This is Laety~_

_So, I, like, was just minding my own business when I stumbled upon this cave. It was wicked wrecked up shop. Seemed like a hobo was living here. Yuck, right?_

_Those two wanted to end the world but I was, like, no way, I had a date with this cute guy next week._

_Long story short (I seriously hope you guys don't need to write in your time. Hurts my wrist like hezz), anyways, I sealed them up with some stuff because you can't just end the world right before a girl gets busy, right? Downright rude_

_Anywayzz, if you're reading this, then that means you have reached the Arc Shrine. Upon certain conditions (Feeding a ton of souls, blocking out the sun), the seal will allow them to have bodies._

_But, like, human bodies._

_This is in the hopes that one day they can look past their own faceless faces and see things from our mortal sides. Yellow can only come out in the morning while Darky is at night unless the eclipse is still up. Something about compatibility?_

_Also, you could use the shrine to power them up. Just, like, fulfill requests on the bulletin board and they should be able to absorb that Faith stuff._

_Or not. Like, I don't care._

_I'm dead by the time you're reading this._

_Anyways, do what you want, kay? I'm seriously done with all this shrine maiden stuff._

_Maybe I'll become a huntress._

_Ciao~_

_P.S. If you are reading this, then I totes succeeded in my date and was able to get the bloodline continued. Score!_

Finishing reading the letter, Jaune averted his gaze back to who were supposedly the creator gods of his world.

"Why do I feel so…limited?"

"To go from infinite to this form…"

Both seemed to have adapted rather quickly from "just functional enough to continue living" to "Looking like they wanted to stop living". The one with shorter hair was staring at her shaking hands with a face of absolute shock while the one with longer hair was as still as a statue but her hollow emerald eyes showed just how the very idea had burned any light within.

Before Jaune could say anything else or even feel anything about the situation, another slip of paper floated down.

_Also, like don't die. There will be things out there to kill the three of you._

…maybe, it wasn't too late to start that dance troupe.

* * *

"I think I understand the situation now." The short haired girl, who turned out to be the God of Light, nodded her head, a small frown on her face. "To think it wasn't as easy as we'd thought it'd be."

"You humans are too wily." The long-haired girl, the God of Darkness, frowned as she crossed her arms. "To think we'd be stuck in these."

"So, you guys, uh, girls, really have bodies?" Jaune asked. Right now, all three of them were sitting cross-legged at the center of the shrine. Jaune had just explained what he had read on the letter which the two took surprisingly well.

"Why are you girls anyways? Aren't you "Brothers." Jaune paused for a moment before waving his hands in front of him. "Not that there is anything wrong with that.

"The term brothers was just something we picked up from you humans," answered the God of Darkness. "In truth, we never had what you mortals call sexual organs as that would imply the need for offspring or to pass ourselves on. Our very being was already perfect as it was so there was never any need."

"It is as my brother, or now, sister says. This must be your descendant's doing." The other sibling nodded before lightly patting her self on various places. "If it helps, this body seems to lack what you mortals call a penis just as my previous body did. Although it does seem to have a- "

"Stop!" Jaune held up a hand, his cheeks lightly red. The girl just tilted her head innocently. "You're telling me you're really, uh, real?"

"Somewhat. Watch this, Jaune." Jaune turned to the God of Light as her body started to glow into a singular color before it dissolved, leaving only a familiar sword. Before Jaune could express his surprise, the sword started to glow the same before turning back to the young girl.

The God of Light held out her arm, as if admiring it. "Currently, our bodies are actually made of your aura boosted by the bit of Faith that Guardian beast had given us. It has the same functions as any female body it just also…isn't."

"And it sounds like we can only do it during certain states of day," spoke up the God of Darkness. She turned above to the hole where the eclipse was finishing up. "It seems this body will be fading soon as it is still technically day."

If Jaune could recall, the Tale of Two Brothers went that the God of Light created in the day while the God of Darkness destroyed it all at night. Was that part of the fairy tale somehow related?

"Anyways," the God of Light coughed into her fist before turning to Jaune with a crimson stare. "This does not change anything Jaune. We will use this shrine as our base and, as the letter said, gather faith."

A small hand pointed to the board Jaune had seen earlier.

"Those must be the requests she was talking about." The God of Light closed her eyes and nodded to herself for a moment before turning them back to Jaune. "After we get this shrine fixed up, you and I are going to go out and promote the shrine when the sun is still up."

"Okay." Jaune nodded at that. At least that meant he didn't have to be by himself anymore when he handed out flyers.

"Also, you may call me Light so as not to confuse the citizens." She stood up, patting a hand on the mirror that covered her chest then reaching it out to him.

"Sure, Light." Jaune received her hand with his own and shook it down once. In a way, this felt like meeting the Gods again. Maybe because he could actually see a face now.

However, instead of letting go once they were done, the God in a girl just stared at their hands that were still locked.

"Uh," Jaune awkwardly spoke up seeing as she didn't look to be letting go any time soon. "What's wrong."

"It's just…your hand is quite large Jaune," she simply replied. It was true, his hand enveloped her tiny one. Finally, she let go. Her expression was contemplative. "How odd."

Not knowing what to say to that, he then offered the hand to her sibling.

"What about- "

"That sort of thing is not my type, Son of Man," replied the God of Darkness. "If you so need it, you can call me Darkness."

"Darkness then." Jaune nodded, pulling back his hand to his side. She nodded before giving him a hard stare…which she didn't seem to be stopping

"What's wrong now?"

"You're too tall," was the blunt reply. Well, he was almost twice as tall as them. He remembered how much all his sisters complained when he had finally, finally, hit that growth spurt a few months back.

"Uhh…thanks?"

"Hmph." As if giving up on that front, the pale girl who happened to be a God sat back down. "That last note is something we should be concerned about. When sun sets, we shall do training here, Son of Man."

Before anything else could be said, the form disappeared, not in a shower of light, but in a portal of purple murky darkness. All that was left was a familiar shield in its sheath form.

It wasn't like Jaune was going to say no to being trained by a god. Today had showed him just how weak he's been. He wouldn't be able to keep his promise with the beast if he stayed this way after all. At the very least, he should be able to get to the shrine without losing all his breath.

If it wanted to, he would have died.

Speaking of which,

"Hey Light. What did they mean by enemies? Is that just for the Grimm?"

"I see. You have not realized yet, Jaune. You see, even if we created this land, that does not mean we are the only gods dwelled within it." The girl's eyes met his own. There was an odd lack of luster in those red pools. "Did you think humans couldn't create their own gods as well? Creation is quite something. In fact, I do feel a bit of my power has returned to show you."

"Then you can help fix this place up?" Jaune excitedly asked. This wouldn't just save him a lot of time but it was pretty cool to finally see some godly powers up close.

"Actually, I may just have enough power to…"

Closing her eyes, the girl held her hands before her, palms faced down. In a second there was a flash, and two long objects appeared in her grasp.

"Here."

Jaune took the object without a word, jaw still on the floor from having witnessed magic for the first time. It was long, hard, and rather sturdy with one end heavier than the other.

It was a broom.

"This reminds me of the old days when I'd wake up to find everything I created destroyed." The girl that was now definitely one of the creator gods of Remnant puffed up her chest in pride, hands at her side with one hand holding her own broom. "You could say I'm quite good at cleaning things up."

Jaune wanted to ask more but the goddess was already off to one section to sweep up the dust. The Arc only had to glance up, at the huge hole on the ceiling, to know his true battle started now.

He sighed and began to work.

The floor wasn't going to sweep itself after all. Unfortunately.

* * *

_Sisters! Sisters! The seal! They have been-_

_We know, Brother. The seal that had long since shielded those two away from our wrath has been undone._

_If it wasn't for that pesky mortal, they would have been defeated and we'd have the Grand Authority of the planet by now._

_Does that even matter? No one believes in those two anymore. Even their True Names had been long since buried behind fairy tales of feuding siblings._

_Indeed, Sister. Even the spirits and phenomenon gather more faith than they. Even their own creations have grown their own Authority._

_"Their", you say? The Grimm have long since become our own. They do not cull to destroying those under our Authority but only the humans those two had created._

_Then what are we waiting for? Let us all now go and crush those two while they are still weak!_

_It is because they are weak, we shouldn't attack, Brother. They would be too busy trying to regain their power while we can plot behind the scenes._

_That's right, Sister. Even giving a mortal's lifetime, they will still be too weak to face us. To truly destroy those two, we need to destroy the bastions of their powers before they could get to them. It is a shame even we can not get to them._

_That damn Wizard... how goes that Witch's plots? I admit I still do not trust her. She has after all, held an Authority of Goddess in the past. Who knows if-_

_She still foolishly believes she could summon those two, nothing more. When she has gathered them all up for us, we shall swoop them away and take the power for our own. Or destroy them if needed._

_That will be the end of those two. And it is about time that we correct that Witch on what being a true Immortal means._

_So, for now, do we do nothing then? And if the others hear about them?_

_We are only after the relics. It wouldn't be sporting to not let them have their fun. Besides, if those two could eliminate the competition for us, then all the better._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: We're back baby! Hopefully no yearly updates anymore. I kinda realized it would be boring to have them be just observers/commenators so here we go. Time for some initial development.
> 
> I actually have an outline this time for, at least, two arcs before canon Vol 1. Jaune's still 15 so we have time. Honestly, I was hoping to wait for a more knowledge of the Relics but fuck it we could do some original arcs before we get to Beacon. If ever.
> 
> The Gods' human forms are based on Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi from Shadowverse/Rage of Bahamut. Honestly, I just really liked their designs enough I wanted to use them somewhere so here we are.
> 
> RWBY 7 ep 1 is also fucking hype but I know this dance by now. So were the other volumes at the beginning. This time I'm just going to enjoy the ride and ignore all the flaws (if they can be)


	3. Chapter 3

In the beginning, there was light.

Some would argue darkness was there first. After all, how could there be light if there was no darkness? Darkness was just the absence of light after all. Could such a thing exist if what defined it didn't?

For one Jaune Arc, such an answer was obvious.

In the beginning, it was truly Light that came first.

Well, if how his recent days have gone were anything to go by, light was definitely the early riser…

"Good morning, Jaune! It's time to get up!"

…much to his dismay.

Like wind blowing through the clouds, a bell-like voice pierced through the darkness that was the young Arc's beauty sleep. As if the sound's very presence brought light with it, his dark room was soon illuminated, not by an otherworldly light but simply by his curtains being pulled open to let the morning sun do the rest.

"Ugh." Jaune, refusing to lose to this being, did what was only natural: Roll over and pull the blanket over his head. However, perhaps in his sleep deprived brain, he had forgotten just who he was messing with. The fool.

A small indignant huff was the only warning he had, if one could call it that, before his blanket was forcibly torn off his body. With his protection gone, all he could do was now blearily open his eyes, slowly, as they needed time to adjust to the light shining at them.

Before him stood a god.

The light seemingly bent around this person, creating a profile of a human from where the light couldn't pass through. They stood above him like a statue with head held high, hands on hips, and legs slightly apart. There even could have been antler horns at the very top of the head too, adding to the otherworldly profile.

It was as if the being was made of pure light, no, as if light had originated from this being.

That effect only lasted for the second it took Jaune's eyes to finally adjust to the bright sun shining through his window.

Instead of the impressive image of illumination, now stood a short girl that couldn't be older than his youngest sister when she was thirteen year's old. Red eyes stared down at him, only possible due to him lying down on his bed.

He curled himself up, hoping that would spare him the day. It was futile, of course.

"Up and about, Jaune."

"Don't you sleep, at all, Light?"

"Of course, not! There's too much to do in this world to waste time resting!"

"You can't be serious. I'm pretty sure even Darkness rests."

"No can do! There's a shrine to be fixed after all."

Ugh. That was the worst part. Nothing spoiled getting out of bed more than knowing you'd spend the whole day just cleaning up a rundown shrine. However, such mortal teenager concerns did not matter to a god, especially one who needed a working shrine intact. They hadn't even touched the hole at the roof, which Jaune was sure was a good reason why they'd arrive to a shrine floor with scattered leaves in the first place.

All Jaune had done for the past week had been to wake up, sweep the place and scrub down walls that really needed to be replaced.

Just when was he going to do prophet things? Not that Jaune knew what said things were composed of. He never really thought that far when he signed up for this. Perhaps he imagined something more...fantastical? No giant beasts or Grimm had shown up since. Nor had there been any pillars of light.

Just a ton of mundane cleaning.

The only real miracle here was that he was somehow getting away with all of this. He was pretty sure he should be going to some sort of school at this point but it seemed getting back home tired, sweaty, and covered in dirt was enough to convince his mother to let him do what he wanted.

As he allowed himself to be pulled out of bed, Jaune couldn't help but think running a religion was much harder than he had thought.

Then again, this was the longest he had gone with talking with a girl that wasn't related to him by blood. Even his sisters would tell him that itself was a miracle.

* * *

The trek back to the Shrine was a lot easier than the first time they had rediscovered it a week back. When there had been an overgrowth of a small forest, now, there was a very obvious hole at the center of the foliage. Entering it would lead one to a tunnel where all branches and leaves did not exist. That had no relation to Jaune's earlier efforts but rather from Darkness just simply walking back and forth from the Shrine to where they started. It was almost as if nature around them decided to part a way for them to pass.

Still, a path was no use unless people knew where it led so the sign Jaune had painted initially was planted at the very entrance. His godly companions had mentioned that it may be better to replace it with something of higher quality but that just proved to Jaune that it seemed even gods had a hard time appreciating art. Still, it wasn't like there was anything much to get to.

The Shrine, of course, was still a wreck and definitely not something one would want any potential worshipers to see as the house of one's religion. They had been working on it all week and yet it still looked like a hobo was living in it. With all the leftover containers of food Jaune left there plus the spare mattress by the back, that may have not been far from the truth.

The path, at least was cool with how most of the trees still covered the top to create a ceiling of wood and leaves. It'd be a bit of a problem if it rained but for now sunlight above barely peeked through which provided a comfortable warmth and Ansel was in the middle of the Summer season. Jaune definitely enjoyed the morning walk as he walked next to Light. He had offered to just carry her through sword form but she seemed more than content in walking the path with him. He could only guess the ability to move after all those years must have been overwhelming.

She walked next to him at the same pace as Jaune purposely slowed down his own due to his longer legs so they could walk together. The goddess didn't look at all inconvenienced that she was only walking on her bare feet.

And it didn't seem like it was without reason too.

Every time those bare soles touched the dirt, a small ripple of light was left behind, as if she was walking on water. From the center, rocks broke out of the soil. They were wide flat rocks, smooth and perfect to step on for those that didn't want to get their shoes on the hard soil. And so, the path that trailed behind the two was of two paths, side-by-side: one Jaune walked which was clean hard earth while the one Light threaded had a pathway made of rocks.

"I'm still amazed that you guys could do stuff like that." Jaune spoke up as he peeked a glance back. "Though I've heard of hunstmen having their own personal form of magic or something, it's still surprising." Especially since none of the hunstmen he knew had anything as showy as that.

"These are not but literal pebbles in what the power of Creation can do, Jaune." Light replied, never missing a step. He'd only seen her create brooms, brushes, pails for water, and many other various cleaning tools so it'd be lying if the Arc wasn't really impressed with such a boast. That didn't stop it from being cool. "This path will be the first impression any visitors will have for us. Giving them even a few stepping stones would go a long way."

"Wouldn't that actually be my sign?"

"...that they are already coming means your sign has worked." The shorter girl politely traded. "Of course, being taken in by the sign and actually making the steps to the destination is a different thing entirely. By having this path made, we wouldn't waste any of the efforts your art has gone into calling them to us."

"You're right."

"And, that's also why we need to continue with the Shrine's upkeep." She gripped her hands into tiny fists, before nodding. "Once it's become reasonable, we'll then be able to leave and start resolving requests."

Although, exactly when would that be? There was still that hole in the roof.

"Hey, Light." Jaune took another glance at the rocks that were growing like weeds behind her. "You sure you couldn't just magic up the roof like you're doing now?"

"Hmm." What Jaune liked about the older sibling was that she at least never immediately dismissed what he said, no matter how stupid. Darkness would have just ignored him after the fifth time but Light at least looked like she took what he said into account. "Not at my current state, no."

"Then..." _What can you do?_ The boy let the remains of the question trail off. Even he knew that saying such a thing, even to a mortal like himself, was the rudeness. It wasn't like Jaune could do much more anyways. As far as being a prophet went, he still hadn't had the slightest clue.

"Right now, my powers of Creation are limited to these small materials and simple tools in what I touch." Light tapped her bottom lip with her pointer finger in thought before replying. Her eyes narrowed as she admitted her current abilities although they did seem to light up on her next words. "Knowledge is thankfully limited."

"Huh?"

Light simply shook he head. The gesture clearly showed it meant nothing to their current discussion. "The most I can do now is create the boards needed to replace the hole of the roof."

"...and that's where I come in?"

"Indeed." The pleasant smile she sent him did not suppress the almost forlorn sigh. He knew it was coming but he didn't really want to hear it. Of course, it wasn't missed. Her expression morphed concerned. "What's the matter?"

"No, it's just..."

He turned his head away from her expectant gaze. He didn't want to say that it felt like too much work as, after all, he did give his word about this. Also, that saying such thing felt slightly shameful knowing how enthused the god was. It was like telling his mom or one of his sister he wanted to go out with her but then wanting to cancel at the last second to lazy about instead.

Also, it was odd but Light had this sort of aura where disappointing her felt like he was disappointing his mom. The feeling felt almost instinctual and Jaune had to wonder if that just came with the perks of knowing she was the one who partly created humanity.

And so, the wannabe prophet, scrambled for a reason.

"Jaune...?"

"I guess I want to do what you're doing too." That wasn't a lie. Being a fifteen year old teenager who was linked to two of the creators of the planet brought with it some delusions of grandeur. It did not help that Darkness hadn't been able to train him yet as most nights she spent helping with fixing up the Shrine as well. "It'd be cool if I could at least make a rocky path, as well."

Light tilted her head.

"You can do it yourself, can you not?"

"Really?"

"Of course. Any of you humans can do what I'm doing with a shovel and a collection of rocks too."

"Oh, so that's what you meant." Jaune rolled his eyes at the roundabout answer. He released the gasp he had held in when she had agreed earlier. He had thought he'd finally be able to do something cool. "I get that but it's more about being able to actually create rocks then the rock path itself. The journey than the destination, you know?"

"...I see." At his words, Light stopped in her tracks, the rock summoning along with her. "You may be right there, Jaune. "

"Huh?" When Jaune turned back at her to ask about her words. He didn't expect his words to actually get her. If such a lousy platitude could stop her, then why didn't the same thing get him a date a month back?

"Here I am telling you to do something you can do on your own and yet am I not doing the same." In a small flash of light, Light had a small gardening shoveling her hand. Her face was oddly resolute yet was radiating something akin to understanding, maybe even literally. "I shall refrain from using my power and do it myself then."

"What? You really don't need to do this." Really. They weren't even halfway there yet. Did this goddess realize just how far away they still were? it would take hours for the digging alone. "We still have things to do at the shrine."

Unfortunately, he knew the look on her face. It was the same kind his older sisters wore when they roped him into something without taking no as an answer.

"We are still in the midst of upkeep. And this path is part of the shrine as well." Jaune didn't know how but when the goddess knelt down on the dirt, her white dress didn't get stained with soil at all. Compared to him whose sneakers were already halfway to looking like leather shoes. It took her a moment to scoop out a good mound of dirt, making a nice sized hole on the soil path.

"You can go ahead, Jaune." Her bowed head replied, as she then filled the hole with a nearby rock. "Start the sweeping of the steps without me."

"And...you'll be okay, here?"

"I'll be fine."

She watched Jaune scratch the back of his head before his gaze turned to the direction of the shrine.

"All right then. I'll see you later, Light. I'll finish the steps before you get there."

"I will see you then." The God of Light turned away from the human to start to dig another hole. To think that it would be her who needed to be reminded of the importance of Creation. Although, how just long had it been since she had created anything? When did it stop being about the joy in creating something new and became about looking after the Creations themselves?

Just when did she stop being a creator to becoming the Creator?

The soil below was hard. The tiny shovel in her hand just did not have the same power to mold mountains with a single swipe unlike in the past. The same ones that lifted volcanoes from the core could barely lift a tiny rock. Even creating this tiny path was barely considered what she'd had once called Creation. It was simple displacement of the ground and the minerals around her. It was closer to Destruction, really.

In the past week, the God had found out an odd thing about the body she used. It started with an increase in heart beat then difficulty in breathing followed by an aching in various muscles and a psychological need to stop whatever she is doing. One didn't need Knowledge to know it was what humans called exhaustion.

It was an odd feeling, she decided.

One that filled her as she pushed a nearby rock into the newly finished hole followed by filling in the edges to make sure it wouldn't be displaced in the future.

One step done.

As she dug up more of the brown dirt, something fell. The Knowledge that such a liquid was sweat filled her mind. She continued on anyways, knowing this meant the body was being taxed. The Knowledge that a nearby rock would fill this in was supplied. She found it and put it back in.

Another step done.

It was a good feeling, she decided.

Back when the planet was new, when it was still whole, the God of Light had created whatever living thing came to mind. Flora and Fauna of thousands of different species. Even just the tiny insects could have hundreds of variations on how they functioned. The only reason the planet hadn't been fully infested was due to the God of Darkness' destructive ways.

In truth, the experiment known as humans were only created, not only to stop the feud, but because the God of Light's affinity for creation knew no bounds. If her sibling cold create the the constantly evolving Grimm, then why not combine their abilities to create something that evolved and adapted just as fast only without the need for utter violence?

It was too interesting an opportunity to pass. The Creation of something new along with the Knowledge it would give was an unquenchable thirst. She had never been defined by those two ideas yet it was those same two she had gifted to humanity.

And yet, in the end, the world she had created with her own abilities, that pure world before humanity, got fully wiped out until there seemed like nothing was left of it any longer. Just a Remnant of it once was. How ironic that the creation she had offered to create with Darkness to stop her sibling's wanton destruction was what, in the end, gave Darkness the full destruction of the world she wanted.

Watching it all burn away after she had first left it...that was the closest the God had felt to this feeling of exhaustion. To watch all of her efforts come undone in a single moment.

Back then, it had also felt like this feeling as well.

How exhausting.

How tiring.

This whole exercise in moving the earth and filling it with rocks was the same.

Exhausting. Tiring. Yet different.

Just why did she Create in the first place?

She didn't even realize a hand had grabbed her own until it had completely overlapped it.

"Here, let me do it."

A voice suddenly broke through her small reverie. She hadn't even noticed she had stopped digging. Or perhaps, she hadn't noticed her body was getting too tired to continue.

Jaune moved himself into where she was, exchanging their places as well as grabbing the shovel from her hand. He was already displacing the ground when he turned to notice Light was still staring blankly, kneeling besides him.

"What?"

"I honestly did not expect such compliance." Her face lacked the surprise her tone lightly betrayed it. Instead, it showed a knowing look. "What made you come back?"

"I'm not sure." Jaune turned back to the ground below him. There were many reasons why he stayed. It'd be stupid to leave his sword behind. It'd be faster if both of them worked at the same time at one job. Perhaps it was just that his sisters' brainwashing had finally come through so Jaune just couldn't stand still while a girl worked in front of him. Curse them!

"I guess I just couldn't let my Goddess be. After all, isn't that what a prophet's supposed to do?" Jaune went with the simplest answer instead. It was something he had been thinking about this whole time but it had come to him when he had watched the small girl's figure and decided it was much too lonely for even a god.

Just what was a prophet supposed to do? Did they single-mindedly obey their Lord? Did they wield awesome powers and performed miracles to spread Their name? Did they act as the Gods' mouthpiece?"

He shook his head. No, it was much simpler than that.

"No, isn't that what partners do?"

Crimson eyes widened slightly as small pink lips formed an "O". Eventually, they crinkled up, sparkling like small rubies under the starry light. If Jaune had been looking her way, he'd have easily mistaken the flush on her face for exhaustion too.

"Partners, huh? To proclaim yourself, equal to a god..." Instead of sounding offended, the God of Light in the visage of a human girl sounded more amused than anything. Enough that the chime of a bell left her mouth. No, it was just that such a noise was too pretty to be called anything but the ringing of delicate bells.

"Huhuhu..."

Her pretty laugh had Jaune flush slightly. He really hoped that was a "with him" one even if he wasn't laughing himself. "W-well, that's what we are right? I'll be your prophet to help you guys out while you guys help me out when you can too. That's being partners, right?"

That was the answer he had reached. Right now, the best he could do was to help these gods out.

"So it is, isn't it?" Light nodded, a small smile on her face as she got up. She sounded, what he hoped, to be satisfied with it. There was also a new spark of something in the normally polite tone, one of barely-restrained excitement. "Do you want a larger shovel?"

"Please."

Immediately, a more standard-sized shovel was handed over to Jaune as he got up from his kneeling position. He could at least dig without needing to kneel down with this one. The smaller one was then pocketed.

"Then I shall find some rocks to fill those in with, and if none are left, I shall create them. But only as a last resort." Light explained. "After all, if we relied on that too much then that would defeat the whole purpose."

"That's a good plan." Jaune nodded, engrossed in his work. The soil was harder than he thought it'd be. "I'll be fine over here. Let's create this path together then."

"Yes. Let us. I shall look for rocks over there then!" An odd giddiness was in the girl's voice as she went off to find some rocks before he could protest. He'd have been worried about her going off but Darkness had assured there were still no Grimm within the forest. Rather, it was more likely he should worry more about himself seeing as how he only didn't have much in weaponry.

_Light is too excited as usual._

Speaking of which...

"Oh, you were there?" Jaune spoke out loud as he continued his shoveling. "I thought you were resting."

_I am. I only wanted to investigate why the strain on our power use lessened._

It had become known to the Siblings that when one was using a body, the other had a hard time keeping awake even when in their weapon form. It seemed the first time had been the sole when they were both weapons, it was easy to converse with the two.

"She was never this hyper before." Jaune remembered how his first impression of the God of Light was more of a patient, wise, man. The one he knew as Light felt more or less the same but was more what he'd describe as driven and responsible than actually excited for things as she seemed to be now.

_Being in a human body affects us who have never felt limitations such as tire or even those chemicals that produce emotions. Well, my sibling has always been like that when creating things._

"Oh yeah. Doesn't the story go that the God of Light loved creating living things as much as you hated seeing them? Didn't she create things every day?"

_No human would truly know what had happened back then. The reason it took days for a being like ourselves was because my sibling had gotten too excited about Creation. There was no end to the madness that was brought forth. The reason I destroyed at night was because I had acknowledged there was just too much for one planet to handle. Some things shouldn't be brought to life at all._

"That's a bit overreacting, isn't it?"

_Count yourself lucky my Grimm had long since eliminated the Spider Horses as well the Clown Trees._

"Never mind." Jaune tried not to shudder. He failed.

_Imagine, Son of Man, trying to paint a blank canvass without previous inspiration. Then imagine that canvass being millions of square miles large. That is what my sibling had created in what humans would consider a day. Every inch was taken into account. Every being as well was designed to play a role._

_"_ That's a lot of praise coming from you."

_...do not misunderstand. While I will admit to Light's ability, I am not envious at all. With Creation comes the burden of Knowledge. One can not just simply create a tree without knowing how it works._

"Well, if you created something then that means you know how it works." Jaune dug another hole, throwing out the dirt to the side. "I get that, at least."

_Then can you try to conceptualize creating water or trees without them ever having existed?_

"That's...no." Jaune admitted. He actually stopped for a moment to think about it. How did one create a tree without having previous knowledge of it? Or how did one create about water and all the rules and cycles that came with it. He could barely write a song without plagiarizing at least half a dozen popular ones.

Such things were just so part of everyday life, of being human, or even of this planet that it was hard to imagine a world where they were first thought up by a person. one would think it'd come from some sort of natural selection process.

"It sounds hard. Did she really do all that herself?"

_Son of Man. I hold no regrets about leaving my sibling be to create as I destroyed. So, there is truth that when she created, I was not beside her._

In the beginning, there was Light. And only Light after all. To destroy something had to be there in the first place, inversely one can create when there is nothing at all.

Jaune recalled how Light and Darkness mentioned they had resided in separate domains. Sure Light had other humans around her but would one really consider those equals? When they were worshipped and asked for favors?

What was more alone, the one who went out to seclude themself purposely or the one who was only surrounded by the toys they had made?

"You really care, huh, Darkness?"

... _Cheeky human. Has all that labor fogged up your mind?_

Jaune didn't say anything. Didn't need to with the grin on his face. He's been in enough sibling spats to recognize care. The twins were exactly like this when they fought, both refusing to acknowledge the other but yet still clearly showed worry. The original tale had made them sound as if they were the antithesis of each other but didn't he feel the same whenever he got in a fight with his sister?

_Hmm. Our talk is over. Don't tire yourself out too much for something this trivial. We may be able to finally begin some training._

"Yeah Yeah." Jaune nodded before realizing what the shield had said. "What really!?"

After no reply for some time, Jaune could only go back to work, more excited than ever. Soon, he heard the litter pitter patter of feet coming close.

"Jaune! I've found a good haul of rocks." Light ran to him holding a large pile of rocks in between her crossed arms. They almost covered her face which made him wonder how she was able to see.

Waving over, he told her to fill in the holes he made.

It looked like they'd be done, as his mother would say, in a jiffy.

* * *

As Jaune sat at the top of the steps of the shrine, finally reaching it for the first time that day, he couldn't help but wonder if he should ask his mother to redefine what jiffy meant.

Because, right now, all he could do was watch the glowing orange hue of the low sun light up the canopy of the forest below. It was as if the forest was on fire.

Although, what was truly on fire were his muscles. Digging for a whole day, carrying rocks back and forth, then cementing down on the holes he created was a full-blown work-out. His hair was wild and his body shined with sweat. His whole wardrobe was covered with dirt and grime.

Next to him sat Light. She was the total opposite of his condition. Her whole dress was still impossibly stain free. Her sun-looking hair ornament was still aloft perfectly combed dark. The only thing that really gave it away was the flush of red on her face along with the sweat on her forehead.

It had taken up the whole day to finish what could have been finished in possibly an hour of walking. Even from up here, he could only spot the parts closest to the stairs followed by some of the path when the canopy opened up. It really wasn't anything special. They were just rocks he had placed in front of each other until they arrived at the shrine.

Yet was it really that weird to feel so proud of such an accomplishment? When was the last time Jaune Arc had seriously put himself into something like this? Maybe his failed dance troupe but he wouldn't be here now if he really did try there now would he?

"That was quite fulfilling, wasn't it Jaune?"

"Yeah, I guess it was."

Well, the goddess next to him seemed more pleased than usual. She wasn't wearing the polite smile she'd wear whenever a day of cleaning ended. Like how his mother would smile when he showed her his report card and said he tried his best. Or maybe she was just too tired to care for such pleasantries.

It'd be a lie to say that smile on her face wasn't genuine though.

Not that he himself wasn't sporting his own self-satisfied look. Although, that may have been partially his wheezing lungs. Even if he hadn't meant it earlier, the seeing the path to the the shrine he had helped create did end up more satisfying than if he had just let Light make it with her powers.

Was this the power of his scriptures? Maybe, he was getting better at this prophet thing, after all.

"I don't believe I've ever worked so hard on something." Jaune turned to the goddess next to him who was staring at the setting sun before him. "Not since we gods both created you humans."

As predicted, her face was flushed from exhaustion. Her whole body aching was a new experience, feeling discomfort from places of a human body she had never had before. The heart, that was meant for simply flowing blood, felt like it was about to ram itself out of her chest.

The God of Light had never felt this way before. Knowledge supplied her the word: Alive.

After all, she had been immortal. There was no beginning or end. Being alive for them simply meant a human's soul was not in the mortal plane. Was this how their creations truly lived? Always on the brink of just disappearing? Stuck in this meatbag of a body that was just constantly dying? How frightening. How impossible.

How amazing.

Millennia ago, the God of Light learned to love Creating life. After, the God of Light learned to look after its creations. Yet this may have been the first time that the God had appreciated it's own (shared) creation.

"Humans really are amazing."

She watched at what was simply the rotation of the planet in coordination to their location caused the image of a perpetual explosion in the deep void of space to dip into the horizon. She had always loved that light in the sky which was why she had created only in the day. Even as she knew this body was fading away, it was breathtaking. Now that she had breath to take, even more so.

"This world has such amazing sights, does it not?"

"Now, that's just bragging." Jaune laughed. He then noticed her slightly wobbling form. "Though you sure you're not tired?"

It was true that while Jaune had been the one to do most of the work, she had been the one to look for stone after stone. It may have been better to have it the other way around but she had Knowledge on her side which made locating things easier.

"Tired?" Light tested the word on her lips. That was something Jaune always complained about at the end of the day but now it was her he was asking. It did seem so.

"Here." He tapped his lap, a gesture the Knowledge within her explained immediately but Jaune did so anyways. "You could rest on my lap. My sisters do it all the time."

Especially when they lie down on the couch when he was playing a video game. Whether older or younger, it was apparently his prerogative as their brother to allow them to rest on him no matter the place or time.

Seeing no harm in it, the goddess scootched over to her prophet and then laid her head down on his lap, her face looking directly up at him.

It was then a large palm moved aside the headdress on her head and started rubbing the top.

"You did good."

"Eh?"

"You did good, Light. You did a good job."

It was something Jaune had gotten ingrained into him by his sisters. When lying on his lap, all his little sisters wanted to be petted while the only reason his big sisters would go to him was the need to feel appreciated. Such a thing was done without thinking. They had truly brainwashed this poor lad.

Meanwhile, the being formerly known as the God of Light stared back up at his warm smile. It was the first time she had heard such words in such context. Thankful? Sure, after she had helped a follower. Appreciative? Should be. But congratulatory? Not yet. Not for something she had done.

But then again, would such words matter to a God?

Yet she could barely be called one now so such words did. They drew a slight gasp from her as she stared at this human in wonder. A warmth not unlike the Light she used to carry warmly smoldered in her chest. Not even the Knowledge within her had made her know how much she had wanted to hear such words from someone.

Odd, she didn't remember creating humans to have such a function when lying on another's lap? Then again, these were already a different wave of humanity from the initial ones they had created. Even so, prior to Jaune's claim it only made her body even more tired. Her heartbeat sped up quicker while the flush on her cheeks got worse, both signs of exhaustion worsening.

How peculiar. It wasn't an unwelcome feeling though.

Maybe, she was more tired than she let on. Tired from moving around in this mortal body. Tired from having been sealed from who knows how long. Tired of creating things to only have them be destroyed. Tired of giving humanity chances only to see how they failed each one.

Was a god allowed to rest? Didn't that one religion claim theirs did on the seventh day? She knew Darkness rested all the time though her sibling would never admit it.

"Then, if I am tired, may I rest with you?"

Jaune looked down, not expecting such words from the typical busybody god. He hadn't thought he'd ever seen her rest since...he had woken up the sword. Even when she was cleaning, she never stopped. Eyes as pure as roses stare up at him, almost as if he's the deity who could grant her wish. Jaune couldn't anymore see the god trapped in being a little girl but just a little girl trapped in being a god.

Of course, his answer was immediate. None of his sisters or his family needed to brainwash or condition him to say what he said, this was all Jaune Arc.

"Anytime you want." Jaune nodded with a grin. "Let thy will be done, mine goddess. Rely on your prophet for times like this."

"Then I will, my prophet." Light took one last glimpse at the sunset before closing her eyes. How long had it been since she simply stared at that setting star? The image was already fading but she knew she'd be able to see it again, will see it again tomorrow.

With the excitement of the day fading and the tire of the day and past millenia, catching up, the God of Light, for once, allowed herself to indulge in just a bit or rest. And by the time the sun had already set in the sky, all that remained in Jaune's lap was a his sword, naturally warmer than usual.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I rewatched the Ozma ep but I think people shit on GoL too much. I get he goes MUH BALANCE but he mentioned that was only in conduction with humans, I believe. I mean, it's not like they Salem and Ozma had made their choices. It's odd that it's Salem and Jaune who are the ones who are foils to each other that volume with how they learn to deal with death.
> 
> Wanted to add Darkness' part but I feel it'll be too much at that point.
> 
> Next on the list is some training, some town requests, and maybe an actual fight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters.

It was night when Jaune arrived at the shrine once more.

Tonight would be when he'd start his training or whatever Darkness had mentioned. Sure, he still felt a bit tired but the excitement was enough to tide him over. He waited at the center of the shrine. The only illumination was the moonlight coming from the hole in the roof. He didn't have any armor, just his usual sweater jeans combo. The sword Crocea Mors was in his hand, silent.

He had been waiting for a while now as Darkness had told him that she was preparing something. Finally, after what felt like forever, she reappeared.

"Now, Son of Man. It is time I reveal why I've been reserving my powers for the past few days."

Jaune actually never noticed. Still, he nodded and went along with it. The God's face took on a smug expression as she raised one arm to the side, as if presenting something to him.

"Behold, human! The Grimm that started it all! The Premidorial that all Grimm stemmed from!"

On reflex, Jaune raised the sword in front of him. Such was the power the word Grimm had over mankind. He held the sword up awkwardly over his face horizontally. He waited, his body tense knowing that such a strong enemy was close. However, no attacks came. Instead, all he heard was the sound of a low growl.

"Gooo..."

He looked down to the source of the sound.

There, by Darkness' feet, was a shiny ball of black. It looked like those slime from his games only this one was pitch black and had glowing red eyes. It continued to growl at him even though it didn't have a mouth, its body just slightly vibrating. With how those two red orbs were scrunched up to look like a V, it must have been glaring at him

It was also barely larger than a soccer ball.

Jaune could only lower his sword in disbelief. This was the first Grimm even created?

"It's...adorable?" Seriously. Even his sister's teddy bear was creepier. God damn blank beady eyes.

"This is the first Grimm I created, dubbed the Goo." Darkness didn't seem to mind his lack of awe from her creation. Instead she bent down and patted it. If Jaune had any doubts it was liquid come to life, they left him as the Grimm practically melted under it's master's touch. "They used to be the most common Grimm out there."

"Riiiiii..."

It purred as Darkness rubbed the top of it's slimy looking body. It's eyes even turned up to become curved lines. Now he didn't even know of he wanted to fight it.

"I believe those are the only two sounds it could make which is why you humans dubbed my creation as the Goo-Riim, or the Grimm. I always called them my Harbingers of Destruction but it was much easier that way." She glanced at Jaune who was giving her a befuddled look. "Don't look at me like that, human. I still don't understand why you call the Avians of Atrocity Nevermores."

"Sure." Naming aside... "So you want me to fight that? It doesn't look so tough." Thankfully.

"It's less of fighting and more of surviving." Darkness turned back to Jaune. Deep green eyes glared back, lips curled menacingly. "As the first Grimm I created, these Goo are special."

It was then Darkness lifted her foot, winded it back, and punted the Grimm across the room. Jaune wasn't sure who was more surprised, himself, or the Grimm as it cried out in pain from it's creator's actions.

It sailed across the room before dropping on the ground with a thud. Then, as if it was from an RPG, it made a point of making one last breath before collapsing into a literal puddle of black goo.

"So did you notice something human?"

"Uh...we're going to start off with learning kicks?"

"Fool. Look at its remains."

And Jaune did. All that was left was a miserable pile of dark liquid...but didn't Grimm leave no remains? It was then the surface of the puddle rippled. Once, twice, then, something looked as if it was emerging from under it. The puddle beneath grew smaller as if it was being absorbed by the being rising from it.

Finally, another Goo rose from its remains, the puddle underneath gone.

"That's..."

Seeing Jaune's horror, the God of Darkness smiled. "That's right. These are less actual creates than containers of pure essences of darkness. Once they pop, they spill it over the ground where the true Grimm crawl out of."

"Goo!"

It purred victorious. Its blobby body even leaning upward as if raising its head in victory. The body then hopped until it made its way back to Darkness' side. There it stood at the ready, as if the goddess hadn't just trashed its brethren.

"So that's where the Grimm came from?"

"To be more accurate, this is the original Grimm." Darkness nodded to herself. "The forms you now see them as? Wolves, Birds, Mammoths. The reason why most Grimm look like my brother's creations was because these Goo had absorbed enough of them to replicate their shape."

"But not all Grimm are animals." Jaune remembered reading about Grimm that could posses or even those that took the shape of creatures straight out of fairy tales and myths.

"Not all of my brother's creations exist anymore. Creatures have existed far before you humans were created. Don't you remember our first visit to this shrine?"

Jaune nodded. That's right. The large guardian beast that had guarded the shrine wasn't a Grimm yet was clearly not a common animal.

"These were normally the size of your average human dwelling." Darkness petted the Grimm, and this time it's purrs were more frightening then cute. "It is only because of my limited power that it has come out this size but that makes this perfect for training you."

The Grimm turned its red orbs to Jaune and started lightly bouncing in place.

"While I may grow stronger by absorbing Grimm, right now, you are too weak to fight even the weakest Canine of Carnage."

"Huh?"

"I believe you humans call them Beowolves." Darkness shook her head as another sigh of resignation left her lips. "So for now you shall face this Goo and attempt to survive it."

"Goo!"

"This one is weak enough not to kill you after your aura is broken but has only enough Darkness within to summon another similar Goo on the off chance you kill it."

"Aren't you underestimating me?" Right as Jaune said that, a blurry blob bulleted towards his chest much like his younger sisters knowing he came back with candy in hand.

He simply swatted it to the side.

Sure it was fast but it was nothing compared to someone who got the highest scores on the DDR machine of the local arcade. He was just too-

"Goo!"

From behind him!? Jaune turned back to see to see the Goo he thought he swatted aside somehow behind him.

'F-Fast!' Could it be that body he felt wasn't swatting aside the Goo but the Grimm using his arm to jump over his body?

Getting serious, Jaune held Crocea More in both hands, his feet spread apart in a pose he'd only seen in movies. He literally had no idea how to use a sword against anything, especially such a small target.

Before he could even think about if a vertical swing of his sword could reach it, the Grimm moved. It shot forward this time keeping low on the ground.

Jaune swung down, even having to bend lightly for the short sword to reach the floor. However it was in vain as the Grimm slipped past its edge and in between the gap in his legs.

Jaune tried to recover and turn once more but a heavy thing smashed down on his back. With him already bending his upper body down, it made it easy for the Goo to send him face first to the floor.

That same hit caused his body to flash white, his minimal amount of aura already broken. As if to add insult to injury, the Goo continued to hop on top of him in victory.

"Goo...Riiiiii!"

A victory cry.

Darkness approached Jaune's front, his face flat on the ground. She bent her knees, lowering her butt close to the floor. If he looked up now, he'd be able to see up her short dress, but his face was kept flat on the ground groaning

"Perhaps you are right, Son of Man. I may have underestimated just how weak you were."

Jaune could only groan.

* * *

"So how was your training with Darkness? I apologize for resting but she had been using quite an amount."

"Honestly? It was a huge blow to my pride." Jaune could still fell the sore spots all over his body. He wasn't even sure how he was able to wake up today. "It's only hard in the beginning, right?"

"I suppose." Light did notice, eyes looking over him in concern. "Are you well enough to continue with our goal today? If you need rest, then we can postpone for now."

"No, don't worry about it." Jaune shook it off. Sure it was discomforting but he did not want to stall this any further. "At least, we're finally done with fixing up the shrine for now. Well, what we can anyways."

Most of the shrine was now mostly renovated. It really needed a coat of paint plus a new roof. Materials were both too many for Light to produce on her own in her current state so they decided to headstart the task of gathering power.

"I have already prepared what we needed." Before the goddess, was a wooden tower made up of stacked blocks, the same kind of block the Beast had given to them. Each one also had a paper pasted on the front and topped with a loop of string. "With these, the people of Ansel can now ask requests. Then we shall fulfill them within reason."

These wooden plaques were to become the bridges of Humanity and the Gods. By hanging them on by the board of the shrine, it was meant to symbolize the faith that the Gods would reach their prayers.

Of course, here, it would become a literal mission board as the Gods were able to physically help now.

Jaune placed each one in a backpack he slung over his shoulder before turning to the goddess beside him. Hopefully, this will go better than when he had gone out and simply handed out flyers.

"Hey, Light. Have you ever been given any unreasonable requests?"

"...a few." Light tapped the bottom of her lip in thought. "Bringing back the dead for one thing. Or to lay waste to an opposing kingdom. Or simply create a person in their image."

"But you CAN do stuff like that right?"

"It is not about what we can do, but what we must." Light responded sagely. "We are also very much limited right now, as you may know."

"Then what are we allowed to take then?"

"We can take whatever they want. Hopes and wishes left for us are also signs of Fath." It was then that the small girl handed one plaque out to Jaune. "Now, here."

"Huh? Me?"

"You too are allowed to write, as well." The God beamed up at him yet her words were oddly withheld. "I would also like your request to be the one I will first grant."

Jaune stared at the wooden block. If he were to write it before he met the gods, he'd put it down wanting to become a Hunter. And if it was even before that, it would go to becoming strong enough to be a hero.

Right now...

"I'll hold onto it for now. You've already done plenty. Both of you." Idly, Jaune turned away while he pocketed the plaque "I still have to fulfill your own request after all."

"Very well." Light politely nodded, knowing eyes turning back to the pile of wood before them. "Then let us begin our gathering of faith."

* * *

"Hey Darkness, not that I'm complaining, but will you ever teach me how to fight?"

It'd been about a week since they had begun this training and all Jaune had learned was to hate that Gooey monstrosity as he was turned into its punching bag. He hadn't been able to touch it once, and even then, his weak strike would bounce off the thing.

Sure, it felt like he was getting better at reacting and dodging but he still has no idea how to swing or even hold his sword properly. While he'd watched enough movies to know how the trial by fire training style worked, it'd still be nice to learn some actual forms.

Of course, he could just have signed up for a training school or even found some intructional videos online but he was already busy enough in the morning as is. Also, there was barely any reception here. Something he really needed to fix.

However, all he got was a confused look from the goddess before him.

"Hmm? Since when did I say I would train you to fight, Son of Man?"

"Since...well...Isn't this training for any big bads that would arrive?" Surprisingly, none on that front yet. The closest was his call at the dentist and Jaune still swore that man was a devil. "I can't just be dodging all the time, right?"

"Why not?"

"Huh? Aren't I supposed to fight back eventually?"

"I see..." Darkness' face stared at him befuddled. "You seem to have misunderstood. I am only here to train you so you would survive, not fight."

"Seriously?"

Darkness nodded. "In truth, I do not have any idea on how to fight or use your human weapons. You are better off asking Light about that if it is Knowledge you seek."

"Huh." Plopping down to take a seat, Jaune hadn't expected that answer. That was disappointing but he'd lie if he said these sessions had been worthless. He'd admit that facing a Beowolf still sounded intimidating. "I thought you'd teach me some moves and stuff."

"Child, you have to understand that a God does not fight." Darkness' reply was absolutely serious. "To fight means to be on equal grounds of some kind. Even the smallest of insects can get in a fight with the largest of Grimm, no matter how ineffective it is. To fight a God would be like fighting the Sun itself."

Not just an impossible battle to win but one that couldn't be made in the first place.

"Such things are trivial to a god. Even if all of humanity went against us, one attack from myself would wipe out all of humanity in a moment. Even so that would be less of an "attack" and more of a reaction."

"You're exaggerating." Even for them, it sounded too much for a single snap to have wiped out all of humanity...

"Believe what you wish." Darkness crossed her arms and leaned back as if to sit down and, amazingly, floated in the air. "Either way, I have nothing to teach you of battle. That I give you opponents should be enough."

"But what if bad guys show up? I'd need to know how to fight them, right?"

"Just run away."

"What about Grimm? Don't I need to beat some up to get you stronger?"

"Admittedly, that is true. We'll save that until my sibling gets stronger." Darkness huffed. "Light disappeared from overuse without a battery. We first need to make sure this shrine is up and running by then."

"I guess." Jaune rubbed the back of his head, visibly downput. Sure it had only been a week of this but the montages in movies felt like it should be done much faster. The expression caused a single twitch on the watching goddess' brow.

"Are you questioning me, Son of Man?"

"N-no. It's just that only doing this is sort of...repetitive?" said Jaune, his last word more of a guess than an answer.

"It has only been a week and you still have yourself constantly losing to the Goo."

Who knew training would require doing the same thing over and over again? Jaune surely hadn't expected such a commitment but he did need to save face.

"I didn't say boring! Just..." Jaune looked for the word under the questioning gaze of the girl before him. Something then came to him. "If...As your prophet, shouldn't I be more impressive? You know! Represent how amazing you two are!"

Jaune knew it started to work when her stare turned from harsh to pensive. It seemed all little siblings were weak to flattery. He started to lay it thicker.

"As the prophet of the creator of the Grimm, it wouldn't reflect well on you if even your weakest creation sends me running."

"Hmm...you do have a point there." Thinking over a moment, Darkness finally nodded. "Very well. There is something else we can do in between these nightly sessions."

Yes! Hook, line, and sinker.

Before Jaune could even celebrate, the world around Darkness started to spin. Dark winds blew beneath her in a circle. Her dark raven hair flowed out from behind her and from within Jaune swore he saw the image of stars and heavenly bodies within the curtain of darkness.

"Rejoice, Son of Man. For you will be the first in your race I shall return that what I had once I had taken back: the power of Magic will again flow within your species."

Jaune's eyes widened at the proclamation. Did she just say magic?! Was he really going to learn how to do actual magic!?

He could only imagine all thing things he'd be able to do.

Launch fireballs, create glaciers, Drum up whirlwinds, Raise plants, throw lightning bolts...wait, weren't these things he could do with dust anyways?

W-well, it was still magic! The bullshit excuse of any writer. Finally! The benefits to this prophet gig were starting to show!

"Th-that's awesome! You're the best Darkness!" Jaune hollered, previous exhaustion gone hearing the news.

Darkness blinked in surprise once before her head titled a little higher, an extremely pleased look on her face. Clearly, she hadn't expected such compliments...or was used to hearing them.

"W-well, you can praise me more, I suppose."

"Hooray! Amazing! Best god ever! Would worship! We should make you a statue!"

"Th-that's enough." An oddly red-faced Darkness covered his mouth with her hand, only possible with the way she was floating. Though the small palm could barely hide the large excited grin on the boy's face. She moved back and that stupid smile remained unchanged.

"However! This does not need to mean you shall slack off on your survival training. I expect you to destroy at least five goo successively before we even begin."

That did put a damper on Jaune's mood. He could barely kill one let alone four more. However, at least here, he had a goal. His delusions of finally being the hero he's always dreamed about were too close to becoming a reality for him to pass up.

"I'll do it!" He met her gaze with his own, full of resolve. This was his best bet to get stronger. He wouldn't back out now. "I won't let you down."

"S-see that you don't then." With those last words, Darkness retreated to be replaced with another Goo. It growled menacingly, as much as a dark piece of jelly could.

Jaune just readied his sword, magic at his fingertips.

* * *

"Magic?"

"Yeah, Darkness offered to teach it to me if I did better at training."

"Hmmm..."

Today had promised to be a slow day for the two. A grocer needed someone to look after her stall for the day which led to the two of them looking after it.

Much like Jaune's expectations, most of the things they'd been doing to help the town had been mundane jobs. Small towns like Ansel were used to the occasional hunter passing by in need of free room at the cost of some help so such a thing wasn't too out of the norm.

Still, it had been a better reception than just simply handing out flyers. People turned out to be more receptive to take it and visit the shrine if you gave them free labor.

And now that it looked like they had some time to themselves, Jaune decided to ask Light about his last training session.

"Hey, Light. Can't you teach me magic too?"

Light shook her head. "Unfortunately, it is not something I can help with. Magic has always been Darkness' gift to mankind. One which she took away in the past."

"But don't you do magic all the time?"

Instead of giving a straightforward answer, Light went with a different approach. "What do you believe Magic to be, Jaune?"

"Well," Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Fiireballs and stuff, I guess. Also, what you do where you summon things out of the air. Basically, you can do what you want and just call it a single word."

"You're on the right track." Light nodded. "My own powers actually stem from Creation and Knowledge. To create even a rock, I need to know things such as its composition, the chemicals that make it up, each molecule's placement in the universe, the displacement of the matter where it had existed, the exact dimensions that I want and more. And that's for a non-living being."

Next, she gestured to the food before them they were meant to sell. Ansel's classic Potato Cream Puffs. They were like a hash brown but filled with cream.

"Much like the food before us. By following the rules, one can create such treats." She pointed to a potato used for decoration. "With the Knowledge of the workings of existence, a rock can be formed from pure Faith much like these Puffs can be formed from potatoes."

"So basically, you just have the best cookbook in the world?

"If you want to put it that way." Light nodded, satisfied Jaune somewhat got it. She also didn't look at all offput by the very mundane metaphor of her powers. "Now, my sibling's own power stems over Destruction and Choice.

"Choice?"

"All things can and will disappear. If that's the end point of all then what you do in between is Choice. As my sibling is the gatekeeper to the end, it can be said she has control of the routes to the destination."

Jaune nodded along but it didn't answer his main question. "So how is that magic?"

"What the humans called Magic at the time was simply Darkness giving them more potential to choose. Magic lets you do more, not with yourself, but with the world around you." She nodded back to the potato. "To go back to our metaphor, right now the only thing people can do to obtain these Puffs is purchase them. But with Magic you can purchase the potato and create your own."

"So...it's eactly what I said. Basically, do anything you want."

"I suppose." Light giggled. "However, even with more choices in life, you still need to find how to reach them or create ways to get them. Just because you can order the potato doesn't mean you initially knew you could or even know how to."

"Okay, I get all that...maybe." It was like getting access to the cheat room in a game but that didnt mean he already had the cheats. Jaune nodded in understanding but there was still something bothering him. He could understand if if there was no magic these days, as it could have been lost to time but..."But why did she give Magic before anyways?"

"That...I can not say myself."

The two then continued their shift in comfortable silence

* * *

"Ah."

"Ah."

The impossible had occurred. Such an occasion had both man and god synchronize in surprise. Both even had matching expressions although Jaune's was the more slackjawed of the two while Darkness' had a lack of belief.

"Riii..."

Ignorant of the shock between mortal and eternal, the Goo gave one last moan before it dissolved into a black puddle. It hadn't even been a fluke. Just a well timed slice had gotten the Grimm as it was mid-jump.

"I...I did it."

"...so you did."

Contrary to what the God of Darkness was suspecting, Jaune Arc did not whoop or holler. He did not make any large celebrations. Instead he simply stared at his sword, his expression more intense. It was more mature than the God has expected but, then again, there was nothing mature about the goofy smile he had on his face.

She ignored the twitching of her own mouth.

"Do not celebrate too much. You will now need to do the same four more times in a row if one deems themselves worthy of being blessed with my gift once more."

Yeah, but, wow. I can't believe I was able to kill my first Grimm." He seemed so overwhelmed by this first step that Darkness wondered if the boy even remembered their deal. Jaune paused before turning to her, apologetic. "Uh, no offense. I mean..."

"It matters not." Darkness waved a hand. "As creatures formed of Destruction, it is only fitting they too can be destroyed. Besides..."

Then, like a fat gelatinous Phoenix, another Goo rose from the puddle.

"...Destruction only begets Destruction."

The newly formed Goo hopped its way to Darkness' side where she once again allowed herself to pat it. It glowed under its masters' attention. Anyone else would have found the sight charming if one didn't know that such a thing was a Grimm.

"I still find it hard to believe that's a Grimm. Sorry, THE Grimm." Even Jaune found himself smiling at the cute creature's actions even if it did best him up for the past hours. "If only all Grimm were like that."

"From my past experiences as a shield, there is something different about the Grimm since my brother and I had left back then." A complicated expression entered Darkness' face, a combination of frustration from not knowing something and annoyance that she didn't know about it. "They are much more...tame."

Tame was not the word Jaune thought described the blight that was trying to make Humanity extinct. "You consider them right now tame?"

"Of course. I created them after all." Darkness nodded serious. "From what I can tell from previous experience, the Grimm right now only come after humans who are experiencing negative emotions."

"That's...right." Or from what Jaune heard at least.

"When they are really supposed to be going after all of my sibling's creations. Nature, animals, and really anything that can be considered living," added Darkness which made Jaune's face slightly pale at the thought. "I'm not sure if this is just a natural evolution or someone had reconditioned them to do so. Either way, once my power has returned, I'll make sure they are back the way they were."

Jaune had no idea if that was better or worse than what he had now. Frankly, he didn't want to find out.

"Do you really dislike Light's stuff that much?"

The only response he got was a sidelong glance before the goddess continued, completely ignoring him.

"My preferences aside, the Grimm have always meant to keep on check my sibling's more eccentric creations from overrunning the planet." Jaune didn't even point out that she didn't deny his question. "You humans weren't the first dominant species, after all. At least, I had my hand in creating you all. The Grimm today, however, have just become too plentiful. Perhaps a good culling would do."

The Arc wasn't surprised with how the goddess practically announced genocide to her own creation. After all, she had told him she could get stronger by absorbing defeated Grimm. Did all this just come with being a being of Destruction? But then that begged the question...

"Hey Darkness. Do you actually have anything you like about this place."

Her immediate response was a raised eyebrow partnered with a tight frown. Jaune immediately got to explaining himself.

"I mean, there has to be something you actually like that-"

"The moon."

Jaune's babbling stopped at the sudden reply. Instead of expounding immediately, Darkness looked up to the night sky, through the hole where the fractured moon above shone.

"Tell me, human. Have you ever wondered what a full moon would look like? If that wreckage of a memory up in the sky wasn't broken apart?"

"To be honest, no." He had seen images, of course. The idea of a single moon had been thrown around in science fiction novels. So it wasn't something that ever interested Jaune who was too into comics and games.

"I see." When she turned back to him, an incredibly bitter smile was on her face. It would have been heartbreaking if it didn't hold a trace amount of pity directed at him. "It was a truly beautiful sight."

The God of Darkness then went back to staring to the celestial body, ignoring the sounds of the footsteps that told of the boy moving on from this discussion.

It truly was a shame what happened to the moon. The sight of its ever evolving phases was the only thing that kept her company in the long distant past.

Back when the siblings still feuded, the silver light of the moon was the only thing she could enjoy of this plane. At the time, all she could do was bring about disasters and calamities, diseases and outbreaks.

Of course, no living being would dare approach her.

It was still the time when the very concept of death and mortality was still young. Creatures were naturally immortal. Only her Destruction was what brought an end to things. Then when the planet became even too much for only her, she spawned the Grimm to do her duties.

But before them, moonlight was her only companion, her first one. Perhaps why she had unconsciously made them weak to silver light. (There was also that she didn't ever want them to be able to harm her sibling.)

Of course, this had all been forgotten. When Man was created with both Creation and Destruction, so too did other beings after naturally expire. This made the Grimm redundant but they were never meant to leave the Grimmlands.

When the time came when the Brothers left, Darkness made sure to destroy the one thing she loved the most. As a punishment to the future inhabitants that they may never see such a sight and, simply, because that was what the God of Darkness was: Destruction.

And to think this was all because of that vile Witch...and Darkness' own weakness. Then again, was it so wrong to be wanted? All she had wanted was a follower who went to her, not her brother or a replacement.

To not be a satellite that people only saw the use for reflecting a faraway star's light.

Even now, it was the same. Light was the one out there, gathering the followers while Darkness was secluded to the shrine. She doubted she'd be able to get followers this time around, as well.

Maybe, not a million but...

Suddenly, an odd rumbling sound broke Darkness' melancholy and, embarrassingly enough, it came from her. The reason being that the foodbag the humans used was reacting to the oddly attractive scent nearby.

She turned to see Jaune holding up something golden brown with a flakey texture

"What is this meant to be?"

"Uh, potato?" Jaune waved it a bit in front of her, making the food look even more enticing. "Specifically Potato Cream Puffs. An Ansel classic. You won't have us beat at spuds...or so my dad tells me. "We've been working there for quite a while now and the owner usually gives us extra. Sorry, I only remembered it just now."

Darkness continued to stare, no, glare, at the temptation. "I do not need sustenance."

"Yeahs, you're not getting much of that here but it tastes good. Think of it as thanks."

"Thanks...?" Finally, the Goddess accepted the treat in her hands, even if that was more out of the pure confusion upon hearing such a word said to her.

"For the training. I mean, I just killed my first Grimm! I can still feel the rush.. Not that I've turned into a bloodlusting maniac but...I do feel stronger now." Jaune bore a genuine smile down on her. " And it was thanks to you. Huh, what's wrong?"

"No...I..." For once the goddess found it oddly hard to formulate words as she looked down at the gift given to her. It was her first time to get an offering, after all. An odd heat seared through her and she had to wonder if this pastry much hotter than she had realized. "Are you really thanking me for having you get beaten up?"

Jaune grunted. "That'll turn around soon enough. You'll see."

"Perhaps." Daring, Darkness took a small bite out of the fried foods given to her. Immediately, she took another and another.

She hadn't even realized Jaune was staring at her until she turned to him with a cheeky grin on his face.

Feeling accursed heat rise to her pale cheeks, Darkness hid her mouth behind the rest of the Potato puff.

"...Cheeky Human."

Before Jaune could say anymore, he was blindsided by the return of the Goo.

It was a good thing that it did as there was no way she'd be able to tell him to get back to training with crumbs scattered around a tiny smile.

* * *

"Hey Jaune, have you...grown taller?"

"What do you mean, Saph?"

"I mean, you feel so different now. You wake up early and stay out till dusk. You're still on this weird cult thing-"

"Not a cult."

"And what's this I hear about you helping the town?"

"Just spreading my doctrine."

"Well, it's working. Just came back and everyone is talking about you these days and how responsible you've gotten."

"Do I even want to know what they used to think of me?"

"Nothing good but nothing bad. I don't think anyone here thought of you at all. But now everyone is talking about how my brother helped them out and how you were opening up the old shrine. We haven't had this much buzz over something since ol' Bessy gave birth to twins calfs. Mom's been real proud, though I don't know if it's just because it's too late for her to disprove. Anyways, congrats bro."

"Aw geez. Thanks Sis. I did have doubts but I've really grown into my role."

"Also, I think I know why. There's also been talk of you doing this cult stuff with a strange girl not from here. No one knows who she is but that she wears off clothes and will grow up to be a beauty."

"Ah...that's..."

"Jaune. As your sister, I will tell you now. If you're starting a cult just to get with a girl, it's best to give her up now. Some girls just ain't worth it."

"You know it's not like that."

"I really hope it isn't. Trust me I'm just thankful I got Terra to give up Goth."

"...weren't you the one who went Goth for a while?"

"And that's why it was great she gave that up. Couldn't stand doing that for another week."

* * *

"Gah!"

Jaune fell to the ground. His last attack had cost him. He had over extended his swing allowing the Goo to finally get past his guard and smash into his side.

As the fourth goo he had faced, it was also much larger than the ones before it. Jaune had only realized that now that he had finally gotten to the third some summoned from the pool after two previous Goos had been defeated.

Perhaps it was just his impatience showing after finally getting this far that he overreached. Already, the Goo had vanished in replace with Darkness, herself.

"You came close, human."

"Yeah." Jaune's reply betrayed a lack of disappointment in his recent failure. He had just gotten too used to losing by now. Whether it was from tire or focus, there were fewer complaints from the boy. "Just give me a moment to catch my breath before we begin again."

It really was a shame that he had lost his aura by the second slime. It had been a week since their agreement and Jaune had already gotten used to the speeds and tricky movements of the Goo. As he expected, the whole "throw you to the wolves" training was starting to bear fruit.

It was still slow. He celebrated taking on three Goos back to back yet when he had looked it up, students from Pharos were taking on packs of Beowolves at this point.

But considering this had all begun about almost two month ago? It was still more than he had ever expected when he picked up his family heirloom in the basement.

Well, he'd like to think that even if there weren't gods sealed in his weapons he'd have still trained and gotten into Beacon without much fuss.

However, it'd be a lie to say this wasn't taking its toll on him. He had to wake up early in the morning to help fix up the shrine then spend the rest of the day doing odd jobs around time. This was them followed by his training which usually lasted until midnight or so.

He had never really had a "full day of work" until this last week.

Thankfully, the shrine was actually almost finished up. The grounds had been cleaned up and de-weeded. The building was now made up of mostly new polished wood accompanied by a new pair job. The steps were all remade. They even had a donation box now (not that they needed it)

It was really that hole that was the roof itself that needed to be finished. Jaune had even considered just expanding it and making it open air but, of course, one can never predict the weather.

Then once that was done, he knew he could double down on his training...although he also had to open up and maintain the shrine too now...Bah! He'd cross that road when he'd get there.

For now, he just needed to catch his breath for a moment or two. Just a quick nap then he'd get back to training.

After disposing of some more dead wood from the old shrine building, Darkness came back to find a sleeping Jaune laid across the floor.

The God of Darkness could only sigh. Really what was she going to do with this human?

_Darkness, isn't this enough?_

She turned to the sound of the voice, a lightly glowing sword that Jaune had been using to defeat her creatures

"Whatever do you mean, Light?"

_I mean this fooldhardy training._

"Do you not wish the boy to be able to defend himself?"

_I'd rather he be able to not fall asleep from exhaustion. Rest is something important both for God's and mortals alike._

"So what are you suggesting?"

_Perhaps, you can lighten the training? Or even have some of it done during the day while more repair is done at night._

"I refuse."

_W- What? But why?_

"This is just like you, Brother. You speak of honest deals yet you do not see how they immensely benefit you more than I."

It was just like when they had created humanity. The God of Light had spoke as if Humanity would be their greatest creation yet it felt it was only hers. Whether intended or not, living would always choose life and creation over death. Her always surrounding herself with the Grimm also did not help matters.

It always felt like she had been cheated from the beginning.

When Darkness had given them Choice, it was less about giving them autonimity and more that she wanted to make it known that if, when, they chose her over her sister, it was truly their own action, not from the Authority or influence of either God.

The current situation was much the same.

Of course, humans would operate more during the day while they would rest at night, Jaune Arc included. This, of course, meant Darkness had less opportunity to be in human form while her sibling had the whole , true, Light hadn't decided on such rules, Darkness still found herself cheated.

"Besides, the boy wants this. I am not forcing him into anything. I'm sure if he could go all night, he would. Besides, I have doubts that he'll be okay with killing any of your creations.'

She felt a smile of satisfaction grow on her as the sword did not reply to her words. That was one thing Darkness knew she had over her sibling.

The things Jaune Arc did in the day, it was out of duty and responsibility as their prophet. The training he did at night was something he, himself, truly wanted and desired.

While he was surely growing into enjoying his duties, nothing would truly replace his dream of proving himself through getting stronger.

While Light got the outside to believe in him, only Darkness' training had him learn to believe in himself through his own growth as a fighter.

"Why don't you just let him sleep in more?"

_To waste daylight? Never!_

"He sleeps through a portion of my time! You just want to hog him!"

_A-am not!_

"Hmph! This is just like the time with the Unicorns!"

_This is different! My prophet needs rest._

"Our prophet, you mean."

_...that's what I meant._

Just as Darkness was about to retort, an idea popped into her mind. She vaguely remembered where such words came from.

"Fine then, dear sibling, I concede. Just for tonight, I shall give the boy rest. It is fortunate I had been told of a way that made resting more effective."

Darkness then went over to Jaune and got down on folded knees beside his head. With a surprising amount of care to not wake him, she lifted his head and placed it on her lap. Her dress barely reached the lower half of her thighs so she had to hike it up a little more to let the full head rest on her short upper legs.

His blonde hair was much softer than she thought it'd be as it tickled her bare thighs.

"Oh, it's not as heavy as I thought."

_Darkness! What are you doing?!_

"Can you not sense it? I am giving him what he had given you those weeks back"

The sword continued to flash dangerously but that's as much as it did. The God of Darkness ignored it, instead looking down at the surprisingly gentle face of the boy as he slept.

Feeling an odd urge within her, she poked his cheek which got a few mumbles from him. How annoying.

He may have been the reason he and Light had just fought but he was also the reason they had been able to fight at all. It had been too long since their last squabble.

Plus, he didn't even hold anything against her for her deception.

Were all humans like this? She doubted it. Her brief stints with humanity involved getting tricked by one then destroying the remaining. The rest was being used as a weapon followed by as an heirloom.

It was the first time she had been able to really interact with one. If more were like him back then, perhaps she'd have not been so trigger happy in wiping out all of humanity.

Or maybe she would have still gone through with it because of how infuriating he could get. With these odd human emotions he brought forth from her body, she didn't think she could take more than one of them.

Perhaps, a million followers was too much for now.

Jaune mumbled once more.

Yes, one was more than enough for now.

For the first time, the God Of Darkness felt satisfied where she was. Of course, it'd be nice to have all their power back but that would eventually come back. These days, Destruction came if one waited enough. There was no need to hurry things up.

Emerald eyes gazed up to the cratered moon as a pale hand rubbed away blonde forelocks from skin. Next to her was a another offering her follower had given her, something called fries.

It wasn't as beautiful but it would do for now.

Later, a confused Jaune woke up, a shield beneath his head and a pouting goddess kneeling next to him.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I still wasn't sure how to portray Darkness. In the show, he just seemed like a dude who got easily jelly but still seemed to care. Darkness here is then unused to the attention, belief, and trust Jaune puts on her. It's kinda sad in away but much like Light needed someone to rely on Darkness needed someone to rely on her.
> 
> And, yeah, Jaune's meant to be super nerfed (not that he was OP in canon). He can only take a single hit before his aura breaks. This Jaune will still be (technically) stronger than pre-aura V1 Jaune as he started training at 15. There's still room for growth from him and the Gods but that will still be in a bit.
> 
> Next, we're finally wrapping up this preclude arc up with Jaune's chapter. Though dunnow if it'll be two parts or not.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters.

"Finally done!"

Jaune Arc, prophet in training, looked over his finished work. A wooden board was attached to the wall in front of him. More importantly, various wooden plaques hung from the board. Just a few weeks back, only few moldy pieces of wood took up the space.

Just this night alone, Jaune had filled up a whole row.

Each piece on the board signified not only a job well done but also that his small home town was starting to trust in him and the gods he was shilling a little more. It was a point of pride for the boy at this point, the only other being the almost rebuilt shrine that he had worked on for weeks already.

Yes, a lot of the jobs he had been given were mundane tasks that definitely were not worth a lot of people's time but it was still nice to be useful. Also, he was starting to suspect that the older folk were calling him up simply so they'd have someone to talk to.

After training (or getting beaten up), he'd place the newly finished plaques on the board followed by deciding which to do tomorrow. This had somehow become the last part of his day.

Already, there were quite a stack of unfinished wishes left by his side which he needed to look through.

Jaune sat down as he picked one up.

It read, _"Please milk the cows."_

He picked up another one.

_"The television won't change its channel"_

He picked up another one.

_"World peace would be nice..."_

"Ugh." Jaune groaned. As usual, he wasn't sure if the increased number of requests meant the townspeople were taking him more seriously or not.

"Just what animal's death cry are you imitating this time?"

Jaune looked up from his exasperation to find Darkness floating next to him. The unamused look on her face was offset by the bright pink donut she was holding up to her mouth. Extra sprinkles too.

It was a gift from this morning's request to help clean some chicken coops. While they never asked for any rewards, the people Jaune helped out were often nice enough to give Light some sort of payment, mainly snacks. It was almost a shame then that Darkness was the one who benefited from this the most.

In reply, Jaune held up the wooden plaques.

After training, normally, the two would just head home but there were more requests than Jaune had expected so he had taken the time to look through each of them. There was no way he was bringing these things to his room as there'd be a good chance he'd just lose some of them. Best they remain here.

"Ah, those. Nothing I can help with then."

"Well..."

"It is your job as our prophet to link the humanity to those beyond them while it is our job to help humans who go out of their way to ask for our help. No matter how mundane."

"Even if it's just chores?"

"That's why you're here."

Just from her tone, Jaune knew Darkness' interest had disappeared. The long-haired goddess bit into her donut, ending the conversation. She laid back, lazily floating in the air next to Jaune as she continued to chew into her snack.

Jaune glanced for a second to the floating goddess, his mouth tightening. For a while now, he had been wondering if she had been feeling left out. She always had that same glazed over look whenever he talked about the requests of the townspeople. While Jaune felt a little bad for her, from his perspective, he and Light did the work while Darkness got the rewards. It seemed pretty fair. And it wasn't as if the two (mainly himself) didn't spend most of the night training.

As Jaune thought about what to do, the last request caught his eye.

"Hey, Darkness." The blonde turned back to the goddess who was mid-bite in another pastry. "Do you mind if we cancel training for tomorrow?"

It was only because she was a god that Darkness did not drop the food from her mouth.

* * *

Like most villages that bordered the outskirts of the kingdom, Jaune's home town set a certain day where various stands could gather at the town square and sell things to the townspeople. It also provided an opportunity for the locals to exhibit local goods to visiting merchants.

All around, both local products and popular merchandise were on display for people to see. The smell of fried potato and various sweets was only heightened by the warm sun above. The good weather helped explain the noisy chatter all around as merchants invited potential customers while others haggled for lower prices.

The weekend bazaar.

Jaune hated the weekend bazaar.

In the past, this was the only place he could think of to hand out flyers for his religion. Back then, no one took any notice of him. Add to two bickering gods as his only company in the hot summer sun and you had a very unpleasant experience.

These days, he actually wouldn't say he hated it. This change of heart was only because he didn't have to hand out flyers anymore.

Light did.

And boy, did it make him feel like a failure.

"Can I have a flyer?"

"Yes! Thank you very much!"

"Miss Light! Here's a drink if you're feeling thirsty."

"Perhaps later. I do appreciate the thought. Please take a flyer."

"Excuse me, but do you accept checks for donations."

"Thank you but we only take lien. Please take a flyer."

The short haired goddess was brighter than the sun above as she handed out the flyers Jaune had once made as if they were hard earned lien. Where were these wayward souls when he was doing it?

A small wooden box stayed at her feet with a small sign that read "Donations". If things went anything like last week, it was already full.

As Light continued to effortlessly hand out flyers to the shrine, Jaune couldn't help but feel like she was the better prophet between them. He was sure the townspeople treated the two of them differently and he couldn't even blame them. The goddess of light had an odd aura that made him want to respect her, almost instinctively.

Well, it wasn't like he gave her flyer duty only because he was bad it. No, Jaune had a mission as he browsed through the different stands of the bazaar.

Jaune made his way through the bustling crowd of shoppers and merchants, taking select time to browse each merchant's wares. Some local ones even greeted him, recognizing him from when he had helped them in the past. Jaune waved back but rarely stayed too long for chitchat.

It was only after finding his way to the very edge of the square when Jaune saw a small book stand, decorated with bookshelves out in the open. It was at the edge of one of the bookshelves that Jaune found what he wanted.

"Name's Tukson. What can I get you for?" A dark haired man stood behind a selection of books. Some Jaune recognized as popular best sellers while others he had never heard of. There were even some comic books on sale. However, none of them were what Jaune wanted. Instead, it was something behind the man.

"Actually, I was wondering if you're willing to sell your tarp." Jaune pointed to the large cloth folded at the back. Because the bazaar was in an open town square, it wasn't unusual for some of the stands to bring tarps in case of rain. It was something

"Well, it doesn't look like it's going to rain soon..." The dark haired man looked to be thinking things over. At least he was considering which was the furthest Jaune had come so far. Finally, Tukson spoke up while patting the book collection in front of him. "Tell you what. I'll give you the tarp but you have to buy this whole collection of encyclopedias."

Jaune looked at the price tag. His eyes almost shot out of their sockets from how many figures it was. It wasn't just one but a whole set of books that some would say made obsolete due to the presence of the internet. It definitely wasn't worth the price of a single tarp but this was the closest he had gotten this week.

It was then with a heavy heart (and hole in his wallet) that Jaune then spoke up.

"Alright, I'll buy them."

Tukson blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah." Jaune nodded as he brought out a rough worn out wallet. Contrary to its appearance, it was also stacked with lien. Since he had started helping the town, the male Arc had found no real use for his allowance. He'd normally spend them on snacks or games. However, the townspeople gave him free snacks regularly plus took up his a lot of his gaming time.

Light also seemed to draw in donations really easily which she always handed to him.

For a fifteen year old, handling that sort of money actually had Jaune make sure he only spent things for the shrine. Just thinking of spending donations on himself sent waves of guilt through him.

Buying a set of encyclopedias for the roof was a fair enough trade. It didn't set him off compared to buying snacks for Darkness with the hard earned money of the older residents he helped.

After counting the lien, the shopkeeper placed the large tarp next to a set of heavy looking books. With a rope, he then tied the two pieces of merchandise together to present in front of Jaune.

"Pleasure doing business." As the shopkeeper pocketed Jaune's money, the boy looked over the tarp he had just bought. Sure, it cost him quite a bit but this meant he could finally finish with the shrine's repairs. Yes, it was practically a bandage over a hole but Jaune would take what he could get.

"Oh yeah." The man suddenly spoke up again. "By the way, I've heard around the place that people are worshiping the Two Brothers here."

Tukson's sudden inquiry caused Jaune to look up at the man. A hint of pride blossomed in Jaune's chest. He then replied with an excited smile. "Yeah. Actually, I've been heading their revival. We even have a local shrine here if you want to pray to them. Although, I still need to patch up the roof with this tarp over here."

His words actually made the man pause. Hard hazel eyes stared down at Jaune's own causing the boy to take a step back. The dark irises within them were sharp as they dug into his skull. It was almost like being stared down by the local stray cat.

Jaune dared to swallow and he swore he could feel the stare digging into his jugular.

"You're not...a faunus, are you?"

The unexpectedness of the question caught Jaune off-guard. He could barely sputter out a reply.

"Nope! Not at all!." A pause. "Not that there's anything wrong with that! I mean, one of my sister's boyfriend is a faunus and-"

"Relax, kid." Tukson raised a hand. He sighed as he shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean it in that way. The Two Brothers is just a touchy subject for the faunus."

"Really?" The would be prophet blinked in confusion. He honestly had no idea although, to be fair, he didn't know too much on the faunus. His town was small in that, while the people did not turn away fauna , they also didn't go out of their way to know about them. "Is it okay if I ask why?"

Again, the man stared at him. Although this time, it was more of incredulity. He looked too shocked that Jaune didn't know something to show anything else.

"You do know how the tale of the Brothers went, right?" Tukson then recounted the fairy tale Jaune knew all too well. "So, once again, what did the God of Light create?"

"Living things."

"And the God of Darkness?"

"Grimm. And stuff like diseases and calamities, right?"

"And, together, both created humans." Jaune nodded at Tukson's repetition. It was then the older man leaned closer to Jaune, staring him in the eyes once more.

"Now, while humans and even Grimm are mentioned, haven't you noticed that fauna aren't mentioned at all?"

Jaune's mouth slowly opened, an answer about to leave but none came. Instead, his mouth was left agape as one hand slowly reached up to rub his chin.

"Huh." Now that he thought about it, why weren't Fauna mentioned? He made a mental note to ask either sibling later. "I never really thought about it."

"The answer is simple." Tukson folded his arm across his chest. An odd agitation was spread across his face. "Initially, the tale was thought to have originated in Mistral. Most fairy tales were used to teach children about something. Here, it was like faunus weren't even worth being part of humanity's origin story."

"I..." Jaune was speechless. Was he actually now part of a speciest cult? Then again, he never recalled either god ever mentioning the faunus. "I mean, we're not like-"

"Save it. I didn't mean to question you all." Once again, Tukon raised a hand which shut away anything that was about to leave Jaune's mouth. This time, instead of agitation, annoyance was on the man's expression. "Besides, that's not the whole story."

What did the man mean by whole story? Jaune tried to think about it more before he remembered Tukson's earlier question. "You asked if I was a faunus...but why would a faunus believe in the Brothers if they denied their existence."

"This may surprise you but there have been recent archaeological discoveries depicting even older versions of the tale from past civilizations. Yet, they were different in one aspect." Tukson paused and almost whispered the next words. "The gods had horns."

"Horns." Jaune immediately made the connection. "Then that means...!"

"That's right." A feral grin spread across the Tukson's mouth sending goosebumps through Jaune's skin. Yet, what was more dangerous were the man's following words. "For some, this showed it wasn't that the faunus weren't created, it's just that they were always there from the beginning. There are others that even believe that faunus are the true gods compared to humans."

Jaune had no reply. Of course, he knew that wasn't true. The gods before him were real. They weren't fauna. Then what was this bad feeling he was getting in his stomach?

"This has made the Two Brothers popular for both faunus and people from Atlas even if the two believe different interpretations. Some of the more extreme believers have actually caused some clashes with the White Fang and-" Tukson stopped himself as he realized he was rambling and seeing the clear distress on the boy's face.

"The takeaway here is that everyone has their own interpretation." The man patted Jaune's shoulder. "I'm sure your town's belief in the Brothers is as valid as their own."

"Y-yeah. I mean, sure." Jaune forced the conversation in the back of his head. His hand idly reached for his pocket. "Actually, I should have a flyer here."

"How about I swing by the shrine later?" Tukson offered instead. "You said you needed to patch up the roof? I can help you with that."

"Really?"

"It's all anyone here is talking about so color me curious." The man shrugged. "I'm leaving tomorrow so I'll try to stop by in the morning."

"That'd really help me out!" Immediately, the blonde's mood was back. It was the first time anyone (mortal) had offered to help him out. "I'll be waiting then."

"See you, then."

Taking the rolled up tarp and his pile of books, Jaune left the stand with his head held a bit higher. This was the first time he'd convince someone to visit the shrine. Sure, he wasn't the one that suggested it but he did agree. That had to count for something. For once, he actually felt like the prophet he was supposed to be.

Now, if only he could make progress on the other front...

* * *

It was a hot afternoon.

The sun above had never bothered Light as she did her usual cleaning of the shrine. With a wet rag in hand, she scrubbed each planked up wall with ease. She had been pleased to hear from Jaune that he finally procured materials to finish repairing the shrine. While Light actually never minded the hole in the ceiling, she also understood how the unpredictable the weather could be as she did design the system.

The building was looking much better than before. Yes, it may not have held up to the previous temples she had experienced back when she was still conscious as the sword of the Arc ancestors but, for some odd reason, Light found the patched work shrine very charming.

The goddess didn't even need to use Knowledge to remember each repair Jaune and her had done. Having omniscience revoked paradoxically made each memory she made easier to remember. For example, the one she was wiping away now was on a day they both had helped herd some cattle.

It was simple enough as the bovine instinctively listened to her guidance. They were also given the day's fresh milk. Light had found her body respond positively to the sweet taste. She would have drank it all if Jaune had not set aside a bottle for her sibling.

It was just another of the days that had passed since she had gained this body.

Speaking of which, as it was, as Jaune dubbed it, "Literal crowdfunding day", they had not done any requests since most of the morning was spent at the weekend market.

While it was good work to see people taking up the faith, Light still could not help but be worried the whole morning about the planned activity later. A buzz of an unknown emotion trembled at the back of her head which she had been trying to ignore the whole morning.

Shaking her head, Light's red eyes sought a blond mop of hair, finding it immediately.

She walked to where she saw her prophet standing. Jaune stared up at a large beast of a statue. It would have frightened most with how realistic the detailing on it was. Light would sometimes find Jaune doing as he did now, staring up at the statue, as if looking for some guidance from it.

Silently, Light moved next to Jaune. She was content to patiently wait

"It's called a Shiisa."

"Hmm?" Light turned to the blonde who suddenly spoke up.

"Two i's and a's. I've actually been reading up on this." Jaune explained. Who knew encyclopedias could contain information? "They're statues meant to protect an area."

Light followed his gaze up to the statue's fierce face. "I can see why."

"Hey, Light." Jaune continued. "Do you remember why you created these?"

"I suppose you could say they were also created for protection." Light replied. "To be more specific, I created these flame lions for the sole purpose of cleansing the air."

"Huh?"

"Back then, the atmosphere of this planet wasn't as habitable. Not to mention Darkness had just unleashed some sort of poisonous smog on the planet." The goddess nodded her head and then pointed to the statue's stone flames. "The fire of this beast was special. It cleansed the that it fed of, burning away all impurities. These beasts would regularly stay in one spot until the air was clean before travelling elsewhere."

"That's pretty cool." The awe in Jaune's eyes seemed to have increased as he stared up at the statue. "I hope there are more left in the world."

"I can not say. It had been a long time since I myself had seen one. I'm even surprised one still existed." Light then tapped her bottom lip, a little perplexed. "I can't recall ever giving them the ability to turn into statues however."

Jaune just hummed back, still staring up at the statue.

Once more, the once God of Light wondered what thoughts were going on through the human before her. Was he comparing himself to the guardian before him? Was he remembering the promise they had shared and the duty bestowed upon him? Was he scared?

The God of Light had never felt fear for anything in the past. After all, the being had never grown attached to any of his creation. Whether it was the constant destruction dulling the loss or just the ability to replace whatever was destroyed immediately, Creation had the god always look to the future. What was another civilization collapsing when another one could be made in place?

Light felt the pressure in her head worsen. Unconsciously, her hands squeezed the rag they were holding, wringing any excess water in it.

"Jaune, about tonight perhaps we can do the task while the sun is up. You may be too tired to do it by night fall."

"Don't worry, Light. I'm still up for it."

"I see..." Light closed her eyes, sighing. Even for a being blessed with Knowledge, humans would continue to act outside what she expected. She also did not need her powers to know there was no dissuading her prophet. "I wish you and Darkness the best of luck, then."

"Leave it to me."

Jaune replied, not once turning his gaze away from the stoned behemoth.

* * *

It would have surprised those that knew her (basically two people) but Darkness wasn't that fond of the dark.

Yes, she had been known as "the God of Darkness" but it wasn't like she named herself such a thing. It wasn't even that she gained her powers from the dark. It was actually closer to say that the concept of darkness came from her rather than that she was a being of darkness.

In any case, while Darkness didn't hate the dark, that didn't mean she necessarily loved it. One of the limitations she had soon found in taking a human form was that humans couldn't see in the dark unlike Light's other creations. Well, that was also her fault for wanting to create them that way.

Still, such past decisions had started to hinder her so she had used some of her power to be able to let her body see in the dark. Her prophet actually could see in the dark as well thanks to their link but had failed to realize it yet. He just seemed to have assumed most people could read and train in total darkness.

Total darkness being one of the best ways to describe the nights in the small town.

It was most obvious in the forest they were currently exploring. It was a few ways from the shrine with a thick layer of foilage provided by the tall thick trees around the. Any human that would have looked up would find the leaf ceiling covering most of the night sky's stars, the only source of light that could be found in the silent forest.

Darkness also knew the humans had created artificial lamps that covered their buildings but it seemed there was barely any in the backwater town the human resided in which made the night feel less than the lack of sunlight and more like a creeping fog that threatened to swallow everything in its path.

Of course, the darkness couldn't do such a thing. The creatures it brought, however, were a different story.

And these creatures were the very reason they were out here.

"Human. You are too tense." Her sudden words may have accidentally spooked him but then again, the night had been dead quiet besides the small rustling of the leaves and the steps the boy's footwear made on the hard ground.

"Sorry." The human apologized though his tone revealed just how little his mind went to the apology. His eyes darted from side to side and his arm had yet to lower the sword he held in front of him. His back was hunched over, spine coiled. Most of his attention was clearly on the mission on hand.

If Darkness knew he'd be this nervous, she'd have never agreed to this in the first place.

Last night, the boy had received a request asking to eliminate some Grimm in the forest next to the shrine. He had been excited to do it and, while Light didn't support the idea, Darkness had decided it would also be a good test for his combat abilities.

Plus, she could always use more power.

She had even gotten a little excited in finally leaving the shrine. Darkness was never an outside person like her sister, more of the "I'll stay in the goop" type, but even she wanted to see some new sights.

However, the constant fidgeting of this young human was spoiling her solemn atmosphere.

Something had to be done.

"Human. Halt!"

"What is it?! Is there a Grimm nearby? W-where is it?"

"The only thing you're going to hurt is yourself. Put down my sibling for a moment and look at me."

"But the Grimm..."

"Have not appeared since we began this trek." finished Darkness as she waited for the blonde boy to calm down. Eventually, he lowered his sword and stood up straight though he still occasionally glanced to the nearby dark shrubbery. "Now, tell me what's the matter."

"What do you mean?"

"You are acting like a lamb about to be offered to my sibling." Darkness crossed her arms and leaned back to sit on the air beneath her. "Be thankful that you are getting advice from a being of my stature."

"Oh...uh...thanks. I think." Jaune rubbed the back of his head, looking as grateful as anyone would to be compared to an animal sacrifice. He hesitated for a moment but Darkness' piercing emerald eyes did not allow him to hide away like the eve he was. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"Have you not bested my creations before?"

"That's different!" Jaune corrected himself immediately seeing a raised eyebrow."I mean, it's not that the Goo aren't difficult but these are Grimm! Wild ones that won't pull their punches."

"Are you saying my creatures weren't?"Darkness then reminded Jaune that he had yet to reach the fifth successive Goo. The furthest he had gotten was the fourth one before he would surrender. "Perhaps my sibling was right. It may have been too early for you."

"No! I can do this! Even without your help!"

Jaune's voice rang especially through the dark empty forest. It was the image of a prophet yelling defiantly to their god or, what most would see, a fifteen year old boy yelling at a thirteen year old girl.

The boy's eyes were closed so he couldn't see Darkness' face. For a split second, he felt terror. He had just yelled at a god! Not just any god but the one he was supposed to help. Before he could even do anything, he heard a sigh.

Not one of disappointment or even of resignation but a small sigh.

"Child of man, whatever goal your mind is set on, do not forget your role in this existence nor ours. Even as our prophet."

The blonde felt something on his arm. He thought Darkness was touching it but when his eyes opened he only saw a shield strapped to his arm.

It had been a long time since he'd been alone.

* * *

Walking through the silent dark forest made it impossible to keep track of the time. The rigid tenseness in his muscles had long since passed leaving only a tired exhaustion.

It didn't take Jaune too long (or was it too short?) to find a Grimm or, perhaps, it was more accurate that a Grimm found him.

The Grimm was big. Bigger than him even if he tip toed. A white bony skull covered what Jaune assumed was a head. White spikes jutted out where limbs should be. It was hard enough to even see an outline with how its dark body blended into the night.

It had the shape of a large bear yet undoubtedly the eyes of a monster: Luminous red eyes with a yellow glow.

They locked onto Jaune's own. The darkness that shadowed its large body shifted as it turned to him. A low growl reached his bones.

This was a Grimm. He didn't know what it was called but this was definitely what oppressed humanity for all its existence. This was what the beast had constantly fought. This was what Jaune needed to overcome to be strong.

The would-be hunter readied himself.

Jaune raised his weapon, sword in one hand and shield in the other.

The Grimm rushed, not wasting even a moment. It's heavy gait brought pounding footsteps as it rushed at Jaune with the intent to maul his body. Its speed was something that its large body did not suggest.

It was much faster than Jaune imagined it to be as it reached striking distance in the span of seconds. A deadly claw was already raised, as if crashing its brute body wasn't enough to send the boy flying.

With a silver arc, Jaune sent its arm flying in the opposite direction. His blade cut through the Grimm with no resistance. It was as if he was cutting through air. Another slash and the Grimm was already bisected.

The cut parts flew behind Jaune, still carrying the Grimm's initial momentum. They hit a nearby three with a thud. A moment later, both dark flesh and white bone dissolved into a black dust that floated towards Jaune's unused shield. The ash disappeared into the shield, as if being absorbed by the guard.

After a moment of silence, Jaune finally released his breath. He took a moment to look around and, seeing as there was no other Grimm, placed his sword back into his shield and turned it into a sheathe to carry.

There was only one thought going through his mind: _'Was that it?'_

Was that all he had been worked up about? It made all of his previous nervousness so silly in hindsight. He thought he needed magic, training, or some definite, tangible power-up but here he had defeated a Grimm in less than a minute . Plus, it also had to be an epic to the death battle with exchanged blows and flashy attacks.

The moment that solidified becoming the hunter he wanted to be.

Yet, that was it.

Jaune hadn't been told by Darkness but she constantly increased the strength of the Goo he had fought, both in speed and power. That was what training meant after all. Plus, the constant movement of the small Goos meant he only ever attacked after they launched themselves at him. While Jaune had never learned how to truly fight yet, he knew knew how to counterattack.

Such a thing could only have been learned through constant training with little visible progression over a long amount of time.

In short, something a flippant teenager like Jaune would never be satisfied with or understand.

Seeing no reason to stay any longer, the blonde started to make his way back to the shrine.

* * *

The trek back to the shrine was silent.

The ambience was almost suffocating. No birds or insects made any noise. Only the rustling of the winds kept him company.

Any excitement or adrenaline had long since passed leaving only a very tired teenager. Jaune didn't even have the energy to think about the discontent with his previous fight. It just felt like something was missing.

Even when he had accomplished small things like repairing a wall or even remembering to buy pastries, he'd feel a sense of accomplishment. It definitely was in contrast when he helped out the people of the town.

Even when they used him as free labor, he still felt something more than when he had defeated his first real Grimm. The first goo he had beaten felt more "real" than that.

Unconsciously, Jaune's hand hovered over his sword's hilt. His thumb rubbed the top of the hilt.

His gaze went up to the moon. The shattered remains of the celestial object stared back at him, a soft white light lighting up the top of the trees above. He tried to remember something his father once told him about following stars to get back home but it was evading his mind.

None of the stars looked the same, although, there was something else he noticed. A dark pillar was rising from nearby.

Was there some sort of bonfire happening in town?

No, Jaune would have remembered something like that. Besides, it seemed too close by to be the town itself. The only building nearby would be the shrine.

At least, he found his way back but then why would there be smoke coming from the shrine? He was the only one (for now) who visited it. after all. If there was smoke than that meant there was-

Abandoning any previous thoughts, Jaune started to run.

He ran as fast as his legs could go. He didn't even need to think about where he was going as the large pillar of smoke was enough of a direction. Worse was that the closer he ran, the brighter the forest got.

Even in between ragged breaths, his mouth tasted like the smoke that trailed from his sister's cigarettes. The smell was almost just as bad, a musty smell of burnt food.

The more he ran, the more the answer became obvious, the the dark feeling in his gut started to grow.

* * *

When Jaune finally got the the shrine grounds, he was already out of breath. It was even more draining than fighting the earlier bear Grimm. He had pushed himself further than any of his previous training sessions. He would have fallen to the ground from the sheer exhaustion if the image before him hadn't frozen his body.

The shrine was burning.

The building he, Light, and Darkness had spent weeks repairing was lit like a fiery bonfire. The wooden walls he had fixed burned a glowing red. The entrance he had always rested by now only showed a hot inferno within.

The fire was thankfully still contained within the building as it hadn't burned through the roof yet to reach any nearby trees but it was only a matter of time before the flames would finish eating away the walls to collapse the old shack.

Everything inside, from the cleaning tools that had stocked up, to the pile of snacks he usually left in a corner , to his plaques-

"The requests!" He coughed as the smoke got into his mouth, the ashy taste invading his taste.

More than anything else, those wooden pieces were the very proof of his accomplishments to help the town. They were a symbol that the townspeople had started to acknowledge him and now they were trapped in the burning building.

The very thought had Jaune almost leap into the building itself. Only a sudden intense roar of flame kept him standing back. With shaking knees, he stepped away. He had no idea if his very little aura would protect him but from the way his skin could feel the prickling heat even from this far back he knew it wouldn't be painless.

"Damn it!" Jaune cursed as he tried to think of what to do. There was no source of water nearby as the grounds' well was already long dried up. He had never thought of even leaving a fire extinguisher by the shrine. If he tried to run to town, he didn't know if he'd make it or if the fire would get even worse and spread through the forest. There wasn't even any signal in the area so his scroll was useless.

Was his best hope to really just hope the townspeople would notice the rising smoke? When it was this dark and late at night?

As Jaune desperately tried to think of a solution, the fire before him continued to burn even faster. He could feel the sweat on his face drip, not just from the heat. The very thing he had promised to protect was burning right before his eyes and there was nothing he could do.

"Some hero I turned out to be..." He had broken his promise to keep the shrine safe just to satisfy his ego. While it would be more logical to think there was no relation, Jaune still couldn't help but think if how this was his fault. If he hadn't gone out Grimm hunting, maybe he could have prevented all this.

Now, the shrine was destroyed, the requests of the townspeople burned, and his word broken. Why did he even think he could do this all by himself?

As Jaune swallowed his self-loathing, there was a loud crash as some of the walls of the shrine started to collapse. On reaction, his body stepped back, an arm shielding his face. Realizing he had to do something, anything, his hand reached down for his scroll only to bump into something else.

He hadn't even realized he was carrying it with him.

It was a small piece of wood.

Jaune froze as he slowly cupped the item in his hands.

Looking at the blank plaque that he had read so many requests on made him remember Darkness' previous words to him.

_"It is your job as our prophet to link the humanity to those beyond them while it is our job to help humans who go out of their way to ask for our help. No matter how mundane."_

That was right. How could he have forgotten?

He had gotten so caught up in finally becoming a hero, of becoming strong, and proving himself that he had forgotten something important.

He didn't have to do things alone anymore.

Whenever he tried to do something, he always rejected the help of his sisters. He had thought that he needed to do it himself, to be better than them. If accepted their help, especially when they were better at it than he was, it would be his loss.

This was the same with all the past times too. He rejected Violet's attempts at looking at his poetry. He said no to Olive's offer to learn guitar. He denied the twins' application to his dance crew.

When he wanted to be a hero, he didn't once ask help from the two godly beings that were with him. He had asked for magic and abilities but had he ever asked for help?

Just as with the other towns people that he had helped in the past. as long as one was willing to ask for help, they would be given it. Including him

Bowing his head, Jaune held the plaque close to his chest. He closed his eyes and, for the first time in his life, prayed.

"Please save this shrine."

It was as if something in his soul clicked, a missing piece that had fallen into place. Anyone else looking in would have seen a white flash that dwarfed even the flames of the burning shine.

Whatever happened, Jaune wasn't unaffected as he felt his consciousness start to dim as it felt like his aura was being overwhelmed by an immense amount of pressure.

Wobbling for a moment, Jaune's body fell forward surrounded by hot smoke.

* * *

Right as Jaune's head was about to hit the stone floor below, it stopped. His whole body had become prone, floating in the air, before it turned around and gently fell to the floor.

"Really, just what is this human thinking." Darkness shook her head as she stared down at the fainted prophet. "To think we couldn't go one day without rest."

She turned to the back of a figure next to her that was not supposed to be there.

Her sibling stood silent, watching the harsh flames burn the shrine they had spent weeks patching up with Jaune.

For a moment, Darkness found her right hand reaching out to her sibling but caught herself, instead balling it into a fist by her side. A flare of annoyance brushed past her chest which was only fanned by the flames before her.

Darkness coughed and looked away from the shrine and her sibling before trying to speak up again. "It's nothing worse than what I've done."

Her somewhat insensitive words seemingly broke the illusion before her as Light turned to Darkness with a tired smile.

"True. It's almost nostalgic really." Light turned back to the sight that had frozen her.

Her sister was right. She should have been used to this by now. Everything she built was meant to be destroyed after all. Just why was she getting so...upset? Was that what this emotion was?

She has had entire species wiped out so why was this lifeless shrine so different?

The God of Light felt something in her eye. Her human body forced itself to blink from the obstruction. Was the smoke getting in them?

The short haired goddess raised her hand to wipe the obstruction in her eyes only to find it curled into a hard shaking fist.

She stared at the tense fist quizzically before releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, bringing with it Knowledge she needed.

As per usual, an explanation immediately filled her head which she gave voice to.

"It was Jaune. It seems his soul had done something to connect the two of us." Light closed her ruby eyes, feeling the bridge between the two. Her power was connected to another source by a very thin band. The identities were obvious. "If I could recall, humans had called this Semblance, correct?"

The two had seen their fair share of semblances in the past. While they had always known the new humanity could do such a thing, the gods had not expected it to this degree. Maybe, not even within the realms of magic.

"To think a human soul could perform such a feat," hummed Darkness as she too closed her own emerald eyes. While both had already become linked to his soul, the human had somehow created a bridge between the two gods anchored to his being.

She could feel her abilities yet somehow also feel her sibling's own. It was a type of intimacy she never had nor frankly wanted with her opposite.

Instead of pooling within her, power flowed outward while, at the same time, more power flowed in from elsewhere.

There shouldn't have been any real loss or gain and yet...

"Normally, doing what the boy wants should not have been possible at this point even with the two of us."

"True. Somehow, Jaune's link was not just additive but multiplicative."

The swirl of power between the two contained the same amount they both had but the flow and exchange of Faith between them was somehow making it stronger.

Their combined power was still a scoff amount compared to the past. Just like how Jaune's aura was practically nonexistent compared to a regular hunters, their powers combined were minimal. Then again, any number would pale compared to infinity.

Besides, what they had was more than enough for what was needed.

For a moment, the two allowed the cycle to run and empower itself. Power was take but never held onto. Faith was given but never returned

Give and take. Create and Destroy. Light and Darkness.

"Really, when was the last time we've worked together?"

"It was those relics of yours. That still felt like a century ago."

"Ah, yes, those."

Light took another deep breath before she finally opened her eyes. Gone was any hardness and sorrow. Silver eyes, the color of moonlight, stared down a burning shrine.

"Now then, I believe we've been asked of something."

"He'd better be grateful." Darkness' eyes opened as well. Her scathing tone was ruined by the excitement shining in glowing purple eyes. "He was moping around the whole day."

It would have been easy for the two to just tell him to pray to them but they had their reasons. Light wanted the thought and knowledge to be from Jaune realized himself, not given to him, while Darkness wanted the human to make his own choice, void of any influence.

If any of Jaune's sisters knew, they'd say Light was just too shy while Darkness couldn't be honest with herself. Truly, the intentions of Gods may have been too complex for the human heart.

Light lifted her hand and pointed her palm to the burning building. Across her, Darkness mirrored the pose.

One chose to create.

One chose to destroy.

As one, for the sake of a single human, the two chose to rebuild.

To remove the unnecessary pieces and add the integral parts. To take down the old and bring up the new. To destroy then create then destroy then create until the cycle was unneeded.

Not since a time immemorial, two voices proclaimed as one.

As a boy slept, two gods performed a new genesis within a nameless forest.

* * *

"Finally done!"

Jaune leaned back from the large statue. The white cloth he had been using was splotched with dark spots. It wasn't even the first one as the others were practically black cloth now. He threw it to the bucket next to him.

In front of him, the stone lion statue was practically shining as much a rock statue could.

It had been a week since the fire and Jaune had spent most of that time cleaning the charred statue. When he had come to, Jaune had found not a single wooden plaque had been damaged or charred from the flames. Comparatively, the statue had been fully covered by black charred stains.

 _'Thanks, big guy'_ Jaune patted the leg of the stone beast fondly. There was, obviously, no reply from the statue but Jaune liked to think he heard a gruff growl.

Next time, it'd be his turn.

"Jaune!"

Jaune turned to the sound of the voice. Light had arrived with an attire he was getting more used to: an apron and a broom. Compared to him, her red eyes sparkled with energy.

"Oh, Light! Are you done with the cleaning?"

"Not yet," Light answered. "It's much larger than before."

"Well, whose fault was that?"

The goddess giggled, not looking regretful in the slightest. Her off-put reply only had Jaune sigh.

When he had woken up that night of the fire, he had found not the remains of a charred shrine but a brand new one. Where once stood a patched-up small shrine now had a brand new one. The insides were the same but the walls and roof was replaced with obsidian stone walls and glowing wood. Most of the structure was dark to purple but was accented with a golden structure.

While it did wow him the first few times, he soon learned that having such nice materials meant that maintainace was harder than ever. Scrubbing the dark marble, making sure the wood was glowing, the whole scale of it made cleaning the place just as hard as rebuilding the old one.

It was a shame he missed that shopkeeper's reaction as Jaune had only woken up the following day's afternoon. He bet the new shrine was something that shopkeeper hadn't been expecting.

He had also found a lot of gifts from the townsfolk. Apparently, they had all been planning to head to the shrine when they noticed the signs of a fire. Light and Darkness had both dispersed so they ofund an unconscious blonde with two weapons next to him and a large newly built shrine. They were the ones who had helped him back to his home.

He did receive a large scolding form his mother when he woke up after her initial hug of relief. Everyone had assumed that Jaune had started the fire to burn down the old shrine's wood.

"Oh!" Light looked at him expectantly. "I can feel your aura is back now."

"Yeah." Jaune happily nodded. "I was really worried for a while but it's made things much easier."

For the past week, Jaune couldn't pull up his aura at all. No matter what he did, it couldn't be called up. That had not only worried him but also made him realize just how much he relied on even that tiny amount to boost his body. It was only after Darkness had reassured him it would come back that he calmed down.

Sure, he had apparently gained a semblance but it had left him with no aura for a week. It wasn't even like he had much, if any, to begin with.

Besides, he was going to learn magic anyways. Once he beat those five Goos anyways.

"Oh. that's right!" Light reached into the pocket of her apron to hand Jaune a ripped piece of fabric. "I found this while cleaning. It may be a hint towards the culprit."

Jaune's expression grew serious as he examined the possible evidence. He had thought long and hard on the reason why the shrine had burned down. Yes, it was practically a fire hazard back then but he doubted it was just a stray spark.

The cloth revealed what looked to be a logo. A weird sharp blocky shape with a thunderbolt-like crack at the edge. There was also a line designed to be a hole at the center. It almost looked like the shape of an animal's head.

"I have no clue what this is."

Jaune shook his head and sighed before pocketing the cloth. To begin with, he didn't even know if this was just litter. If someone did burn down the shrine, would they really leave their logo? Maybe as a message to not mess with them but Jaune had doubts.

"Rather than think of a possible perpetrator, I believe it would be best to prevent such a thing from happening." Light offered instead.

"That's true. At least, it's something." Jaune agreed. Besides, when he brought it up with Darkness, the dark deity simply replied that there were too many possible enemies to worry about a single one. In fact, he should probably start to expect this sort of thing to happen every week or so.

People, and especially Gods, became extraterritorial when religion got involved.

That she then implied Jaune would be doing his own shrine burnings in the future made Jaune realize he'd get no help from his shield.

Jaune had then went to Light on finding the perpetrator but they had decided to use their gathered Faith in Knowledge of something else. A future protector for the shrine.

"Unfortunately. I have not been able to glimpse the location of any of the relics." Light spoke up once more. "However, I have found an alternative."

"Go on..." Intrigued, Jaune urged her to continue.

"I located what I believe to be a pool of creation. It's a small one but it definitely contains my previous power." Light's eyes narrowed, almost in concentration. She must have been confirming the image in her head. "It may not be equal to gaining a relic but it should be enough energy to give life to the stone statue once more."

"Then that's good enough for me." Jaune smiled. That was there main plan. What they wanted was a guardian for the shrine and there was a perfect one within their grasp already. "Good job, Light."

"You're welcome." Light beamed at the praise however her eyes hardened as she said her next words. "Let us make sure our shrine will not fall again."

"Definitely." Jaune agreed, resolute. "By the way, I hope it's not too far away. I don't want to leave the shrine alone any longer than a week."

"I understand. Thankfully, it's rather close to our location. I believe you humans currently call the land, Patch."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Took me a week to write all this and remember how to write.
> 
> Jaune's semblance is actually still the same. It's still Aura Amplification but he can't really give any aura since he's always giving it to the gods. Since Jaune's semblance also seems to link his aura with another, he's still doing the "linking" only with the two gods attached to his soul.
> 
> Real excited for the RWBY Fairy Tales book. Hoping for more insight on the gods' tale. Apparently the Crown of Choice makes you see the future so I actually got it right last chapter where Choice has a destiny element.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own neither the characters not the series itself.

Jaune tried not to cringe as he heard a sigh for the fourth time that day.

He turned his gaze to the other side of the room to find Light sweeping up some autumn leaves that had flown in. Her cleaning was amazingly effortless as always but he could tell something was wrong.

Light, the normally upbeat goddess, had been down for a while. She still acted like it when they did their requests but when she was cleaning by herself, Jaune could sometimes spot a melancholic look on her face. The sighs too were something she rarely did in the past.

The worst part was that Jaune knew it was all his fault.

It was because he had spent all the shrine's money on an antenna that allowed his phone to get signal. He had told himself it was to make emergencies like the last time easier to handle but he knew it was just so he could browse the net at the shrine.

Who could blame him? The fall ambiance matched the shrine perfectly. The cool winds, the falling red leaves, the soft orange glow of the sun. It was such a perfect place to laze around he had even stored a mattress in a spare room.

The only complaint were the seemingly endless leaves that needed sweeping every day.

But now wasn't the time to enjoy the atmosphere. Now, was the time to help a girl in need.

He'd be lying if her attitude hadn't been bothering him but he really didn't have it in him to ask a goddess what was wrong. Perhaps, it was something a mortal like him couldn't understand. Thus Jaune hatched a plan that would not only cheer Light up but also regain some of those funds he may have misused.

"Look here. I found some leftover wood and made this myself." Jaune presented a wooden cylinder. It had eight sharp sides and was as long as his arm. "I think this will help us get more visitors."

Seeing Light's blank look, Jaune got to explaining himself. First, he held up the cylinder and started shaking it. The sounds of wood rattling of many objects from the insides could be heard.

"It's for drawing fortunes. You shake the container like so until a number comes out. Here, it's number one." Out of the pillar box, a piece of wood with a 1 at the top stood. Jaune then reached over to a piece of paper with a list of numbers.

"Then you check which fortune it indicates and hand it to the visitor. I haven't written them yet but I think people would like to carry proof around. I'm thinking we can do it for five lien a draw."

"..."

Light just continued to stare at him. No, rather, her gaze was on the box. She looked at it as if she had reunited with an old friend. Things immediately felt too awkward for Jaune so he simply handed it over to her

"Uh, you can take it if you want to."

The creator goddess took the box as gently as a mother would hold a child. She stared as if it had given her the answer to a lifelong question that had plagued her for too long.

"Jaune...this is amazing."

"It is? I mean, I'm no handyman but it'd be a lie to say I haven't been getting any better at wood shop..."

Jaune continued to trail off about other things but his words couldn't reach the goddess anymore as she examined the hexagon-shaped box. The wood was old and dry yet it was familiar. She'd recognize the past shrine's old wood anywhere.

For the past week, Light had been bothered by the way the old shrine had burnt down. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she had grown fond of the past building even if she enjoyed its current architecture.

More than that, it was the first time in a long while the deity had become attached to anything. She had been so used to destruction that she had unconsciously stopped letting herself get attached.

After all, she could just make new things that could replace it.

But the recent burning had shaken this belief. While she could replace a shrine, what about things she couldn't? The town and its people. Jaune. Darkness.

Through the box, Jaune had reminder her that there were other aspects of Creation she had put to the way side. If things were to end, then she'd at least preserve a part of them. That was another way things could continue to live. after all.

"This is a great way to preserve its memory." Light happily approved the box. Hugging it even. "I have to commend you, Jaune."

"Well, I'm happy you liked it." Jaune really didn't understand why she was so happy with the thing but it was nice to see her spirits lifted. "If you want, you can do the honors of doing the first roll."

"Can I? If so, then allow me." Her ruby eyes sparkling, the goddess shook the wooden container until a long piece of wood peeped out of the hole at the bottom.

Without looking, Jaune already knew how it would go. Everyone loved Light, almost comically so. He swore he's seen wild animals bow when she passed by them. It wouldn't surprise him if Lady Luck did so to.

The number four stuck out.

Jaune felt his stomach drop. Hard. He double checked the fortune once more, a bad foreboding feeling creeping up his spine. The same feeling he got when his aura broke.

A sharp noise was heard. His phone.

As the Arc son stood up to answer the call, Light checked which fortune the number indicated. According to Jaune's list, it was for the Worst Luck possible in every aspect.

The goddess wasn't surprised. Luck and Destiny were Darkness' domains after all.

* * *

The phone call turned out to be nothing. Just his mom asking him to swing by the house to pick up some things.

It was the announcement playing on the home television that proved Jaune's intuition right.

The weather station in Vale had picked up a rather large tornado headed their way. According to their calculations, it would reach the town within the next few weeks. Already, talks of evacuation and other preventive measures were being passed around.

It didn't worry Jaune too much. His town got hit by tornadoes regularly. The small farming based community was used to it, whether they liked it or not. The biggest problems with tornadoes were not the twisters themselves but the Grimm that followed after. But unlike before, Jaune didn't mind facing some Grimm for training.

Unfortunately, this all set his plans to gain more faith and money moot.

Due to the coming dangers, less people traveled into the town. Merchants stuck to the kingdom while travelers avoided their path. Even the townspeople were too busy to visit the shrine. Crops needed to be harvested before they'd be blown away, shelters needed to be cleaned, and many other preventive measures the town was used to doing.

At least on the faith side, requests were piling up, mostly centered on the tornado. He and Light had spent most of the week boarding up houses and helping stock up food.

He had even been approached by the town mayor if he wanted to make the new shrine a tourist attraction. It would help boost the town's economy and help Jaune spread his religion's name even wider. For now, the town needed to concentrate on damage control for the coming storm over tourism but they could talk after.

Still, all this meant they were getting the usual amount of faith and Jaune had the feeling they needed much more than usual.

That was why the two had finished up with the day's requests early to start preparing one of the spare rooms of the shrine. The blonde had spent most of the time just cleaning it up and painting the walls a pure white.

Jaune had also moved in a table and some chairs where the two were now currently sitting across each other. His old laptop was laid on the table as well as a mouse. Currently, it was only running on battery.

The teenager was looking at the bottom of the walls, dejectedly. His eyes kept looking as if he'd miraculously missed what he was searching for.

Meanwhile, Light was silently tinkering with something. Before her was a wooden model that resembled the old shrine, patched up and all. She was uncharacteristically absorbed in the task, which suited Jaune just fine while he was preparing everything.

"I don't know why I was expecting sockets." Jaune sighed. In his head, he knew it wasn't possible yet he still hoped. He did have some spare dust crystals but it would have made things a lot easier and cheaper. Then again, with requests taking up all of morning, he wouldn't be needing that much power as Light, the centerpiece of his idea, could only last until late afternoon.

Still, it would have been nice to not need to go back and forth from his house just to charge things. Jaune knew he should've gotten that power line installed first. The worst part was that he couldn't even do anything about it until the tornado had passed. He doubted anyone would be willing to set it up for him in the face of a calamity.

As Jaune wondered just how much would it cost to put the shrine on the grid, an excited voice spoke up.

"It is finally complete." Light beamed as she finished tweaking her model. She then pushed it in front of the prophet with expectant eyes. "I believe this could help out our energy issues."

Uncertain, Jaune moved the shrine closer so he could look at it better. It was actually rather well made. Accurate where Jaune could recognize each patch they had done together. He almost felt a bit of nostalgia for the old building.

"I had taken your words into account. This will be my own way to preserve the memory of our past shrine. Its memory shall remain a source of power for this new one. Quite literally." Light nodded and pointed to the top of the building "Look inside, Jaune."

He did as she said and looked into the hole in the ceiling of the mini shrine to find the inside full of moving parts made of wood. Gears. flaps, mini-levers and pulleys were all moving inside the miniature building.

"Unfortunately, it does not have unlimited energy much like a relic of creation." Light said, her tone disappointed in something Jaune was sure was not supposed to work at all. "My limited power could not create anything like that however I do believe this may work just as well."

Jaune stared at the doohickey. It was made up of many moving parts that moved other moving parts. When he tried to follow how one section moved another, he'd find himself going in a circle as the whole thing didn't seem to have a start nor an end.

The worst part was that it was only going faster and faster.

"Compared to having unlimited power, perpetual motion machines need to constantly release their energy else their materials will start to break under the strain of moving too fast."

Without another word, Jaune plugged his computer into the socket located at the back of the model. The moving parts that were speeding up at an alarming rate slowed down into a more stable one. They weren't getting faster but didn't look like they'd be stopping at all.

He checked, and, yes, it was charging perfectly.

The more Jaune stared, the more his head hurt.

"How is this related to light again?"

While Jaune just hand waved a lot of what the gods could do due to being, well, gods. But there were times he needed to put his foot down. Especially when the laws of thermodynamics were on the line.

The goddess scrunched up her eyebrows, a pensive look on her face. Eventually she spoke up once more.

"I suppose it was about time I've explained our abilities. The best way to know a God would be through their authorities, after all." Light took a moment to compose herself and think up the best way to begin. Oddly enough, she removed the mirror she always wore and placed it on the table between the two of them.

"Jaune, do you know of the beginning of time?"

He obviously didn't personally but he's heard some common ideas in the media he'd consumed. Comics were full of that kind of stuff.

"You mean the big bang?" replied Jaune. There were other theories but that was the most popular. Many a final spell or finishing move was based on it.

"Correct." It was then an image of what looked to be a ball of light was projected above the mirror. It looked like the holograms he'd see on the occasion he visited the city of Vale.

"The introduction of light to the emptiness of reality, a burst of energy that became the first matter. Just as matter can become energy, so too, can energy become matter. Light is both and thus link the two together."

The ball of light dispersed to reveal multiple tinier balls. Some were also glowing, others held spirals of dust swirling around them.

"That was the start for the accumulation of information. The first inscription on the records of reality. The moment for when what you humans describe as time began to move."

More and more soon followed as the projection expanded to reveal a full cosmos. Star clusters that held fiery balls of different colors. Galaxies which took prismatic shapes. Planets of gas and satellites of ice.

And at the very edge of his vision, that he may have just been imagining, was a pale blue dot. Barely a pixel on the matrix of the heavens shown to him but, somehow, Jaune knew what it represented. He also knew that Light did too along with the name of every other pixel he'd point to.

"This single event is why I, God of Light, have authority over Energy and Matter (Creation) as well as the flow of Time (Knowledge)." The girl who had been building a cutesy replica of an old shrine sounded more of a the higher being she was. "The same could be said for Darkness as her powers were also defined by the same origin as my own, what you called the big bang. That is the reason we call ourselves siblings."

The projection shifted as everything was absorbed back into a single shining ball. Two other balls appeared to the left and the right, both pitch black.

Light gestured to each one, as she spoke next.

"If the timeline of all existence were to be simplified to the minimal possible amount, there would only be three states of reality: The initial void of darkness before time had begun, the whole timeline of existence, and finally, the inevitable void after all is gone."

That sounded too nihilistic for Light to say yet Jaune believed it. Besides, that surely would still come billions of years after his death.

"This means Darkness has authority over the Fate of all things to end (Destruction) as well as the Destiny for the path to get there (Choice)."

With her last words, the projection faded away and the glow of her mirror disappeared. Yet, the goddess continued to speak, her words heavy with meaning.

"In the beginning, there was light. Before the beginning and after the end there will always be darkness. She is the Alpha and Omega and I am all that is in between. Omnipresence and Omniscience. Choice and Knowledge. Destruction and Creation...

"...Darkness and Light" Jaune finished. He released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Why couldn't his town's school be this immersive?

His mind was blank, too blown away to fully process everything but even through the haze of digesting the information given to him a question he had locked away in his head came to the forefront once more.

Just how did his ancestor seal these two?

In his mind, a vague female figure raised a peace sign next to an exaggerated wink.

"Well, enough of that..." Light coughed. It seemed she had gotten a bit embarrassed acting "god-like" for once. "I believe we are here to find a way to gain more faith and funds, yes? What will be doing today, Jaune?"

"To be honest, it's a long shot but now that we have some electricity I think it could work out pretty well." Jaune then took out a camera as well as his old laptop from the bag. "Have you heard of streaming?"

* * *

In one of the most secure places on Remnant, a man sat on his seat with eyes glued to the computer.

The man was one of the most powerful and influential men on the planet. In his office, large gears turned much like the mechanisms in his mind.

The man may have been the only one in the room but he was never by his lonesome. With eyes that had groomed the strongest Hunstmen in Vale, he stared at the figure on his monitor with great focus and scrutiny.

"Everyone, I won again!"

A large portion of his monitor was showing a popular shooting game. Even Ozpin had dabbled in it, winning the faculty's tournament quite handily. Only a small portion showed a figure of a young girl, no older than fourteen, with dark hair that barely reached her shoulders.

Ozpin was watching, what the kids called, a streamer.

Currently, he was watching a rising star. She had suddenly popped up and taken the attention of just about everyone even him, the headmaster of Beacon.

The young girl was actually good. Exceedingly good. It was to the point some of the discourse on her was if she was some sort of experimental AI. Her reaction speed and adaptability was simply inhuman even to the man who had overseen grown huntsmen graduate.

She did not only finish any game thrown at her the first time she played it but the finish times were also within world record speeds. It wasn't always the fastest time as randomness sometimes was taken into account but it was always the most efficient. Tool-assisted runs couldn't hold a candle to her.

Not to mention, this extended to practically any game.

In shooters, she was basically an aimbot. Fghting games had her show off frame data knowledge that most AIs couldn't follow. Ozpin particularly enjoyed her efficiency in large strategy games where she never once slowed down, as if the information was loading directly in her mind.

Her only weakness were luck based games but she was great at working around her luck, as if knowing she'd be bad at it.

It was all made more impressive that she looked to still be a child. Yet her childish looks only made her mature and reserved personality shine even more. He knew some of his older students who were acted more childish than her.

Although, the biggest draw of this girl was undoubtedly her eyes. These were not simple silver ones but the opposite, the most abstruse reds he'd seen. They were pools that spoke of an immense amount of knowledge and knowing that Ozpin found even himself drowning in them.

Worse was it felt as if she was always looking at him. Not as a viewer but as if they were face-to-face.

And not just him.

Her eyes looked as if she was also staring at every single person across every screen watching her. Not as a collective but as thousands of individuals all at ounce.

Above all that, Ozpin couldn't help but find her familiar. The feeling wasn't uncommon for someone like him but what made it more aggravating was felt as if the memory was from one of his older incarnations that laid deep within his collective soul.

This only made her "character" more suspicious. She played herself as a caretaker of an abandoned shrine. Her tag name was in fact Made in Light, no doubt a pun for her occupation as a shrine maiden. It also matched her reaction times being "light speed".

Some were even starting to call her "Goddess". She didn't encourage them but she never stopped it either. Ozpin didn't have good experience with women who thought of themselves as such.

And the gods of the shrine she looked after? The Two Brothers.

It was such a large red flag Ozpin had no idea on how to deal with it. The headmaster did hope she was as innocent as she looked but his worst suspicions were along the lines that she was trying to revive the once dead Two Brothers Cult.

This meant he would need to keep tabs on this young prepubescent girl personally. One among many he had already started to keep notes on.

He had already spent quite a substantial amount of his own personal funds on getting into her inner circle through large donations. Nothing cult-y so far besides the alarming way some adults were giving attention and money to a minor but who knew just how deep he needed to go if it really was a cult revival.

The hardest part would be if the girl herself was innocent but was being used by the remains of the seedy cult to gain influence once more though he would then have to give them credit for such a novelty method.

For a girl with such potential, he couldn't let that happen. Her talents would be more appropriately used in serving a better purpose: defeating Salem.

Her abilities would prove to be useful especially with how adept her reactions were. There were even those that wondered if the girl did not have light speed reflexes but had a semblance that could peek into the future much like a certain crown Ozpin knew about too well.

Made in Light had claimed she did not have her aura unlocked. Such a thing was hard to tell if true but he had heard of even not fully formed fetus in their mother's womb to have unlocked semblances so having one without unlocking one's aura wasn't out of the question.

She may have also lacked any combat experience but Ozpin felt that even if a student somehow sneaked into Beacon and passed initiation without any combat experience and aura, they'd still be able to stay with a supporting team member.

Ozpin had a full list of them . In particular, there was a girl he had an invested interest in that was just about the same age.

And on the off chance, if she was a cultist? Ozpin would accept even reformed bandits and terrorists if it meant they'd join the war against Salem.

He was definitely going to the offline meeting once the travel bans were lifted and the storm had passed. Already, many of her fans had sent inquiries on her safety since she mentioned she was in the way of the tornado's calculated trajectory.

That was right. He needed to show his support too. Ozpin then moved his mouse to donate a rather large sum of lien.

The girl paused (Not in the game. She was still somehow playing as she took her attention away from it) hearing the donation pop-in.

"Oh. Thank you very much, Ozinity! I really appreciate your continued support."

Ozpin felt a hitch in his throat but managed to catch himself. That was another thing. When she acknowledged a donation, her thank you resonated within his soul. It was the feeling a child got when their parent acknowledged them.

He wanted to say it was magic but he KNEW magic and whatever she had wasn't it.

It almost felt like something that was etched into his very being. The closest feeling that was similiar was humanity's instinctual fear of the Grimm and he was sure the Grimm psycho-abilities like the Apathy couldn't be done over a monitor.

In relation, video reactions of grown men and women breaking down in tears having her acknowledge them had become quite popular.

There was a notification.

"I hate these rich guys that simp to get closer to our goddess."

Just as he was about to type out a lengthy reply to deny such an accusation, a blonde woman burst into his office. With the messiest he'd ever seen her hair, Glynda Goodwich looked as if she had just taken on a twister and had a house land on her.

From her following report, it seemed he wasn't too far off the mark.

* * *

As a being that heralded over Destruction, Darkness knew the tension that came before total annihilation of an area.

It was always the stillness of the world, as if it was taking a moment to engrave the image before it was all gone. The humans called it "the calm before the storm".

Darkness thought otherwise. Destruction was always calm. It was a great equalizer that removed all life, all energy, from an area. The storm was always beforehand, that which revealed the truth of man.

Desperate to cling to life, that was when humanity would always be the most chaotic and unpredictable.

There would be those that tried to enjoy themselves, resigned to their fate. Others would do whatever it took to survive. Some would fight, some took flight. One way or another, destruction would find a way.

She had seen it all.

Ever since the expected tornado headed there way had suddenly increased in exponential size and strength, the people had begun to panic. Apparently, it had picked up speed as it traveled forward and soon became much stronger than anticipated.

Already, conservative estimations were saying it was about to introduce another tier of tornado speeds. And this super class twister was heading straight to Vale with the town they resided in as its first stop.

As the people of Vale prepared for the storm in the coming morn, another fight was brewing at a lone shrine as a young boy faced a single Grimm.

_Tonight was the furthest he had gotten. His best run yet. Perhaps it was the threat of impending destruction tomorrow that motivated Jaune but he'd like to think he was just getting better at this._

_It was not the fifth Grimm of the night. Far from it as he had many unsuccessful runs beforehand. But it was the first one tonight he had gotten to after beating four others._

_He wasn't fresh. Exhaustion from the previous fights and the pressure of the next day weighed heavily on his mind._

_Yet he was not too worried. He was nervous, sure, but not frightened. The excitement to succeed was outweighing the risk of failure._

_Besides, Jaune Arc could see **it**._

Darkness actually approved Jaune's method of fighting. She would even claim that it was her full intentions to do so (It was not). There were many reasons for her preference in this style.

First, it allowed him to not rely on his minimal aura. Every hit counted and would lead to his death. When dealing with gods, that was all that mattered. No amount of aura would save any mortal from true divine wrath.

His small amount of aura even made it harder for the Grimm to take notice of him...apparently. Darkness heard it was negative emotions but, according to the human's book, aura was also a beacon for her once creations.

Once more, Darkness had to wonder who kept changing the mechanisms of her agents of destruction. They were meant to be indiscriminate destroyers, an overwhelming force that drowned out all life, so why did their focus keep changing? Whoever was in charge clearly did not think things through which gave her more reason to wipe these NuGrimm out and start anew.

_Since he had fought that bear Grimm, he had been able to see **it**._

_Most hunters trained and sparred with their aura's up. This was to not only gain a better understanding of their aura reserves and output but also to straighten the efficiency they burned. For example, instead of constantly keeping aura up through the whole body, it was better to apply it the most to whatever limb was being used; with the legs when running or kicking or the arms for punching and slashing._

_So when hunters fought each other, they preferred to stop once their aura started flashing, indicating low reserves, over actually breaking it. It was a good thing such a convenient mechanism existed within a manifested soul._

_Jaune had no such thing. He had the very minimum amount, what constituted a single unit. For the past few months, he had broken his aura more times than most hunstmen would in their (admittedly short) lifespans._

_When a person's aura was broken, the chill of death would always creep up their spine. Aura was a person's soul manifested and it was now all gone._

_An old defunct proverb went 'a faunus that had tasted freedom would take to slavery worse than those born into it'._ _Hunters, too used to having a personal shield and the power it brought, were even more sensitive to the exhaustion of losing the strengths they gained._

_One common rumor to scare new students was to tell them how a broken aura may one day never return. Many studies had debunked it yet such a rumor persisted as the very possibility frightened all Huntsmen._

_Yet, for Jaune Arc, death's whisper had become a mundane greeting. He barely felt any exhaustion when it broke (it barely boosted him anyways). Yet every time it did from a single hit, his body still told him how exposed his existence was; his broken soul still declared how fragile continuation would be._

_The feeling of creeping death had become trained into his body and soul so much that..._

_He could see **it**._

_Just by looking at the still Grimm before him, he could almost see its next moves. Although, it would be more accurate to say he could sense where his death approached. Veteran hunstmen gained something similar thanks to years of battle experience and heightened survival instinct._

_Yet none of them needed to thread so close to death every time they stepped into a fight._

_Unknown to Jaune, his still developing skill was also supplemented at night by the authorities of Destruction and Choice. Combined with such a mindset, sense transcended into something bordering precognition_

_Thus, he could see **it**._

_Not sense **it** or feel **it**._

_He could actually see **it**_

_The moment he would "die"._

Second, the style reflected the essence of darkness. The dark was not active yet omnipresent, simply biding its time until the light was absent. Yet the moment the light dimmed, it crept up before one even noticed. An unending tide much like the scorn of humanity.

Destruction begets destruction. To fight Grimm, Jaune needed to fight likewise.

_Radiating out of the Grimm before him were red threads of destiny that pierced his whole body. When death came, Jaune almost felt a pull in such a direction._

_The problem was that he didn't always react quickly enough plus..._

_Right Arm. Lower left leg. Chest. Foot. Head. Back._

_...they weren't one at a time. Never one at a time, really._

_Already, Jaune shifted his stance to one with a lower center of gravity, tossing his sword onto his other hand._

_A few strings detached themselves yet different ones only took their place._

_This was the reason why he had also started to favor a more passive and defensive approach. Not only was he still trying to get the hang of fighting after all these months, he now had to deal with this information overload._

_The Goo's low growl was the only signal he got before his death started to pull his body nine different ways._

_A dark cannonball shot forward, faster than anything he had fought in the past._

The final reason was the simplest. With this style of fighting, there was minimum use of a shield. The style prioritized dodging and evading. Sure, a shield helped but it only halted the flow of battle. This meant she could spend more time in human form.

_Jaune chose to embrace death itself, grabbing the cannonball that crashed into his chest. His body flashed white as his aura broke but it didn't matter. He didn't need aura to use his sword and stab it straight through the Goo._

_Most hunstmen would have needed a weapon to be coated with their Aura to harm a Grimm. As long as they had aura, anything could be their weapon._

_The sword that was the God of Light went through it with no resistance._

"So you've succeeded." It was easy to think of Darkness' words as dismissive of his efforts but Jaune knew her lack of any snacks in hand said otherwise. He had all her attention.

"While I do not want you to foster the habit of using your aura as a one time shield, you did well in finishing my challenge." The blonde wasn't too bothered by it. His aura actually reformed rather quickly after breaking. Sure he knew it wasn't good in the long run, but was just too excited to finally learn magic to care.

He imagined that he'd be able to make walls of whatever element he wanted in the future anyways.

"...If you do need a shield, I am also always here."

"Huh?"

"Allow me to acknowledge your efforts."

Floating close to him, Darkness pushed his forehead with her finger, sending a jolt through Jaune's whole body, no, his very soul. She then stepped back, satisfied. Besides the soul shaking, it felt pretty anticlimactic compared to when she even announced the challenge.

"You have now received that I had once taken. Be proud, human." A single Goo approached the long haired goddess. Darkness reached down and took the item it had been balancing on its head before passing it to Jaune.

"Much like Aura, you must find within yourself the potential of magic. I have prepared this for you to use. Concentrate, not your aura, but your magical reserves into this object."

Jaune took the object into his hands and tried to follow her instructions. It was just like how he first learnt how to use aura, first he needed to find the unused muscle that needed flexing. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to find. His tiny aura had actually made Jaune quite familiar with the inner workings of his very limited soul supply so he could immediately pinpoint if something was different.

It was an odd feeling. The closest Jaune could get to describing it would be as if he had never used his right hand his whole life, never knew it even existed, until one day, someone pointed it out which made him feel like an idiot for never noticing something so obvious.

If having aura was like having an extra organ in his body, then having magic was like having another appendage attached to him. One required for him to know where it was while the other needed him to activate the "muscle" behind it.

Was this how faunus felt with their own extra parts?

A trickle of something was filling his palms as he pushed whatever it was into the object in his hands. Whatever it was, Jaune tried to remember the feeling and origin of said feeling. He definitely needed more practice but he knew something was happening to the object.

His wands were getting hot, no doubt from the magic flowing into them.

The teenager had actually started reading up on stories in magical settings after hearing about it from Darkness. If he was going to be learning magic, he needed to know what was possible.

Just what could this be? Was it some sort of stone that read his proficiency in a certain element? A special dust that would give him access to another world? Maybe, even an egg for a magical familiar?

"You've surprised me, once more. Hand it back to me." Darkness suddenly spoke up, a small glimmer of wonder in her green eyes. Jaune handed the hot object back to the goddess who took it in her tiny hands. To his surprise, the goddess peeled back the shiny skin of the object to reveal a hidden layer underneath.

He had never seen the goddess look so impressed before.

"Well done, Human!" Darkness raised the steaming object up, examining it closely. The hot air emanating from within was visible in the cold autumn night. A nostalgic feeling assaulted Jaune's senses, most especially his nose.

She then took a bite out of it.

"Delicious," whispered the goddess to herself as she took another bite of the baked potato. She had heard from the humans it was "required" food during this season but she didn't think it'd be so tasty.

It could have been sweeter but it was a nice change of pace for now.

After a few more bites, she finally noticed the human had yet to say a word as he was just blankly staring at her.

"I see. Very well. You can have your own piece." Without giving him time to react, the goddess broke the piece in half and tossed it to the dumbfounded boy.

Whether it was thanks to all the training he had gone through or simply the shock of Darkness actually sharing her food, Jaune handily caught the piece and immediately realized why Hot Potato was a thing.

"Hot...hot...cool..."

He juggled the steaming piece of food for a moment, wishing it to cool. To his surprise, it did. The flashes of hot pain in his palms dampened until he was able to hold the object. It even felt as if the heat was being absorbed into his palms.

"Oh, you did it." Jaune turned away from his hands to Darkness who had already finished her own potato. "Congratulations, human. You've rediscovered the long art of magic."

"That was magic?"

"You heated up a potato then cooled with with your own palms. I don't see the problem here."

"I guess..."

"Disappointed?"

"I just expected more..." Jaune waved his hands, as if that was enough to illustrate his points on his lackluster display of his new abilities. It really wasn't but the goddess at least understood such gestures somehow.

"Much like your own combat training, one does not become an expert sorcerer on their first go." Darkness then raised her own hands. The left started to glow an icy white while the other radiated a hot red.

"Even the simple manipulation of temperature can cause a breeze." From between the two glowing palms, a strong gust blew past Jaune's face. "Take that ability to its maximum potential and you may create something on par with why you humans have been scurrying about so much recently."

Jaune nodded in understanding. She was right. It also aligned with his talk with Light on the subject. Just because he was given the ability to do more didn't mean he knew how to yet. He had yet to tap into his own potential. Besides, wasn't it amazing enough that he could use magic at all?

Sure, it seemed lame at the moment but in the future he'd learn how to do much more. It wasn't like this was the only spell he'd learn. Speaking of which...

"I guess its not so bad...I can do some killer massages now. But what about spells? You can at least teach me how to do a fireball spell, right?"

"Incantations? That's a bit too advanced at the moment."

Jaune cheered at the words. At least, that meant there was more to learn than hot-cold hands.

"Besides, I'm surprised you had any magical aptitude at all," admitted Darkness with a shrug. "It has been too long since humanity had wielded magic so I hadn't expected even a single spark. You may have actually more aptitude in such an area."

"Which is?"

"Heating my food? Keeping others refrigerated? I do not know how the humans in the past classified such a thing." Darkness' lackluster reply had Jaune release another sigh, although this may have been more resigned than actual disappointment.

He still wasn't sure on the battle applications yet but Darkness did give him a hint on the possibilities. He'd need to read up on it more. Those encyclopedias were really starting to come in handy.

In truth, the deity had some idea on why Jaune was able to do what he did but was't ready to share it. Magic was actually fairly simple as long as the user knew what they were doing. It was imposing one's soul unto the world, giving one more choices or possibilities than before.

However, some things came more natural than others did much like a dominant hand. She'd even thought about how semblances were some remnants of the gift she had taken back.

For Jaune, it was something that seemed rather minor yet Darkness wondered if there was something more to it.

To heat and to cool.

Energy and Entropy.

Light and Darkness.

Perhaps, the human had more potential that she had believed.

Dispelling such thoughts for now, she turned back to the blonde boy staring at his open palms. He looked almost giddy, like a boy who had found a new toy. It was as if a colossal storm was not about to blow through his town.

She could even feel the supply of belief and faith surging within, no doubt the other humans of the town desperately praying for a miracle. Yet here he was with a face no man should have when they faced possible death. Darkness would know.

In the back of her mind, she remembered how he acted in the forest all those nights ago. The boy had been nervous, tense, and worst of all, dismissive of her. His current mood was in stark contrast to back then. An odd flicker of an emotion surged past her and the words came out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Son of man, are you not worried about tomorrow?"

"What do you mean?"

"Another trial awaits you. You are acting too...I believe the term is goofy. Are you not overestimating yourself or perhaps underestimating what is to come?"

"Well, maybe? I'm not stupid enough to underestimate the strongest storm in the planet's history. Besides, I know now there really are things I can't do by myself. Plus, I don't think anyone can do much against a natural disaster."

Jaune laughed, looking away. His words sounded dismissive but there was something between recognition and resignation within his eyes. Darkness was about to inquire further but was stopped by the way his blue eyes lit up as he turned his gaze back to her.

"Besides, I have the two of you, right? If I can't do it by myself, then we can do it together."

This caused Darkness to pause. It was as if he had spoken to her in a foreign language that took her moments to decipher before it finally registered.

His words held a feeling that was foreign to the goddess. It was neither the belief to a higher being nor the faith to a god. Something beyond the reliability of power or the security of might.

Perhaps this was what humans called trust? It was odd, a feeling she didn't know she wanted yet wasn't unwelcome either.

Darkness tried to stare back into his eyes to confirm it but found her own traitorously averting themselves.

"...What is the saying? A broken clock is right twice a day?" Darkness mumbled into her hand, hoping it hid the shamefulness on her face. Truly, the one thing she missed about her past form was that it didn't have an expression to show.

She hoped goofy was not contagious.

"Now then, who said we were done with today's training? I still have quite a few more treats that need heating."

Darkness did encourage Jaune to buy out most of the stores during their "End-of-the-world Everything must go!" sales.

* * *

The day of judgment had arrived.

Just off the coast of Vale, a large tornado had formed. Some wouldn't even have called it such a mundane thing as it closer personified divine judgment that sought to cleanse the land. Its height reached the heavens with speeds of winds that reached over three hundred miles per hour, maybe even more so.

A super hurricane that would blow all that was in its path with the kingdom of Vale within trajectory. Not to mention all the small villages that littered the way to the kingdom.

Worse was that the Grimm were being picked up by the hundreds, turning the ominous twister of gray into a dark storm of ruin. On the off chance that the hurricane passed them or even dispersed, all the Grimm within would literally rain down on the world below.

Evacuations had begun weeks ago since the council had learnt of the impeding disaster but the question was just where would the people go? No one knew as the kingdom's own survival wasn't guaranteed. Already, many were flocking to the other three kingdoms for safe haven as the trajectory of the storm made itself known.

Hunters were dispatched help with the evacuation and to fend off any Grimm during the process. It was all they could do as Grimm levels were skyrocketing from the anxiety caused by just the knowledge of the tornado.

And yet, some remained stubborn. There were those that wanted to remain in their small towns even if there was no escape. They'd board up their houses, stock up on food, and dig up underground bunkers. Yet even if they'd survive, would they even be able to leave? The ruin left behind would have to be taken back from the Grimm one more.

Even at the very first town that was the to be run over by the heavy storm, there remained people. Those too old to go anywhere else, those too attached to imagine leaving the place they grew up in, and those that loved the place too much to die anywhere else.

Unfortunately for the hunters and volunteers, most of the town consisted of such people. This bothered them as they too needed to leave or risk the wrath of the super disaster about to befall them.

Yet, they just couldn't leave these people. Not because of some sense of duty but because, oddly enough, the townspeople looked so sure that they'd survive. None knew why except that the people were all mentioning an old fairy tale.

The villagers all stood their ground, ready to die within the small town.

All besides one.

At the top of the tallest hill that looked over the town, a single blonde stood. He held nothing but a simple sword and shield. He didn't look the least bit impressive. Even he knew, there was nothing he could do by himself to change his situation no matter how hard he wished for it.

Thankfully, he wasn't alone.

Around him, numerous wooden plaques were placed on the ground, each one holding a wish directed to them. They all held different words yet the same intention: Please save this town.

"Brothers, your people are in need and look to you both for help." Jaune imagined reaching for the circuit in his aura. There were two live currents attached and only he held the bridge to link them together.

"Let us give them an answer. Show them why humanity still needs their gods."

Jaune hit the switch that was his soul.

His aura flashed dangerously as it took in the brunt of two live wires. It felt as if he was being stuffed until he burst at the seams yet also drained until nothing was left. Power arrived and left, swirling until it reached an equilibrium of faith.

The young prophet fell to his knees, releasing everything in his stomach. He had almost blacked out like before but he didn't, couldn't afford to. Slowly, he got up with shaking legs and his eyes met a brilliant shade of green.

"You're not done here, are you, son of man?" Darkness' words may have barely hinted concern yet it was what filled Jaune with relief the most. The night goddess stood in the middle of the sunny day. He had done it.

"Not even." Jaune replied with a grin. He turned to the two goddess, Light and Darkness, standing side by side. With these two together, he knew saving the town was possible. "So do you girls have a plan in mind? I don't suppose you can just poof away the tornado, huh?"

"The Grimm are the main source of concern." Not denying such a claim, Light answered Jaune. "Such a large amount would run over any resistance. Especially from all the negative energies surrounding this area."

"Your silver light could work if we can release a large enough burst but that would not stop the hurricane. It may also cause a rain of Grimm statues that would resemble a meteor bombardment." Darkness paused for a moment as she turned to Jaune.

"That's definitely not okay." Jaune vetoed the suggestion immediately. "What about making a tornado of the same size but its spinning in the opposite direction?"

"That's not how such things work. They may absorb each other. It must be neutralized or dispersed."

"Then a bomb?"

"Human, you can't -Ugh." Darkness' retort paused as she raised a hand over her head,annoyed. She squinted into the sky. "I've forgotten the annoyance of that sun above. Has it always been this bright?"

"I got it!" Light suddenly spoke up, excited. "I may have found an answer to our predicament thanks to both of your suggestions."

The goddess explained the plan to the two. It was a rather bold plan but Darkness agreed from the supposed benefits while Jaune was just happy he was able to contribute.

The three then got into position to enact the plan. The tornado was already on point to the village. Estimated time was still in an hour yet it felt as if the whole world was screaming with the strength of the winds around them. Trees were being uprooted and Jaune swore he saw his family cow sail past him.

Taking a breath, Jaune took one last look at the sight below. This was the town he grew up in, the town he met the gods and found his purpose. Nearby, their shrine was still standing and, after this, it will still continue in the future. No tornado was going to stop them here.

"I pray to the two Brothers. Save this town!"

A light shone from his body as the cycle of power within him started to move.

Closing her eyes, the God of Light drew her hands close to her chest. Her palms faced each other, a few inches apart. They encircled the sides of the mirror that always hung down her neck.

From within the mirror, a silver light radiated forward. Amazingly, the light rays did not go past her hands, bending and weaving around until there was a translucent silver ball of light held between the goddess' palms.

For how impressive it looked, the contents within was simply a cloud of gas and dust. Not even the Dust those found in Remnant, simple dust that the goddess swept from the shrine every day.

Across Light, her sibling joined in, holding her own pale hands in front of the silver orb. The silver halo above the long haired goddess vibrated as its owner also concentrated her own powers.

Within the orb, impossible to be seen unless one was close enough, the center started to swirl. No, it was more accurate to say it was beginning to compress within itself. Within the silver orb, a visible spiral began to spin.

"Match me, Darkness." Light's eyes flashed silver as she created more and more dust and gas within the orb. She had already created enough gas and dust to fill many orbs of the same size yet the one before her was never filled.

"That's my line," retorted back Darkness, never taking her eyes off her work. Her purple eyes seemed to glow brighter as she willed the gravity within the center of the orb to bring the ever increasing amount of matter even impossibly closer together.

The two goddesses worked in tandem, pushing their power into the tiny ball that was barely larger than their own tiny hands.

From within the center of the cloud of dust and gas, two pillars of red light shot out reaching the edge of the silver. The whole spiral then exploded, expanding outward until it was nothing but a glowing ball.

Barely contained by a border of silver, it was a mass of pure plasma. The mass shone red, yellow, white, then settled on a sapphire bluish tinge.

It was the only light that could shine in the eternal darkness of space.

By the end, sweat was flowing down the goddess' foreheads, both from effort and the pure heat radiating from the orb floating between them.

Creation accomplished; Destruction following.

"Hydrostatic Equilibrium confirmed," murmured Light. She then redirected the flow of power to the silver light keeping the hot mass and the luminosity it radiated contained.

The lesson Jaune had reminder her: it was not only important to create but also to preserve.

Creation shifted to Preservation. The silver light began to harden until it turned into a solid concrete gray. Now, the only thing that could be seen was what looked to be a rock.

"Darkness..."

"I'm on it."

Moving her floating halo off her head, Darkness positioned it to stand before her body. From the inside empty center of the halo, a green color shimmered into view. Light pushed the stone orb through the halo and into the green.

The stone orb rushed forward in the air until it was rushing down. Darkness had linked the space in front of her with the space above the calmest patch of grass within miles: the eye of the hurricane.

The orb floated up as cracks started to show on its rocky exterior. Within, the fusion process had accelerated, expansion was imminent yet the super gravity prevented it. The mass within was going through each of its elemental shells within seconds, with each finished shell releasing more and more energy. The increased density was only adding to the absolute heat within, desperate to escape. The stellar winds roared, having long passed the winds of the tornado outside.

Still keeping his semblance active, Jaune then brought forth the magic within him. The two goddesses had supplied him the energy, the instructions, and the ability to perform such a miracle. All he had to do was to provide the words to bring them all together.

With a low voice, Jaune spoke the incantation Darkness had taught him.

_Extende ad astra,_

_Extende ad stellas,_

_As Astra Per Aspara._

Again and again, Jaune chanted the words as power built up within him. His aura that was white started to shift into a clashing yellow and purple.

The siblings then spoke to the world's realty before them, commanding it to listen and obey.

"Let Gods once more look down from the bright heavens."

"Let Humanity once more gaze up into the night sky."

"Bestow the pursuit for the unending knowledge found within the nebulas."

"Remind them of the infinite choices found outside this planet."

""Behold the light that races through the darkest horizons!""

As one, mortal and gods unleashed their spell. Light dispelled her preservation and extended it within the confines of the tornado. Darkness collapsed the gravitational equilibrium, pushing it as far as it could go.

Jaune simply took aim and fired.

 **[Realta Nua: The brilliance beyond the edge of the world** ]

In a second, a star was born.

In a second, a star died.

With its death throes, the immense heat and incandescence that had been held back was immediately released unto the world. A burst of solar flares fueled by stellar winds attacked the surrounding walls of the super tornado. The strong winds carrying numerous Grimm were buffeted from the inside by much fiercer hot gales that heat even the icy coldness of space.

A light so bright that it could only have come from the heavens themselves scorched the world around it. The earth below sizzled and melted into charred liquid. The air around evaporated into a hot vacuum.

It was only because of Light's silver light containing the heat within the spinning winds that the world had not turned into a burning hell. Instead, it was all directed to the mighty winds trying to keep it all contained.

Due to the immense heat, the whole tornado caught on fire creating a spinning flame pillar that dared to breach the skies above. All Grimm within were burned to ashes in an instant if they had not already been torn to shreds, filling the air with dark ash that mixed with the flames' smoke. The smog stained the air around it.

Not only was the tornado now untouchable due to the heat, it had become unreachable due to the smoke that ate away all the clean air.

The category five disaster had now gone past anything the scale had imagined possible.

The giant flame tornado panicked all that looked upon it. Every hunter in the area, every citizen wanting to live, the people in charge mitigating damage control, even a cloaked woman on horseback who had just arrived. All but one, a single blonde boy.

For he still had full faith in the goddesses before him.

"Jaune!" Darkness reached out a hand which the boy immediately took with his own. He pulled and, in a flash, instead of a girl, a shield was in his hand. Darkness was gone but her halo was still there and open. The only thing stopping the chaos from reaching them was Light blocking out the entrance with more silver light from her mirror.

Jaune took a stance as he lowered his hips and raised the shield in front of the halo. He grit his teeth, as he readied himself.

"Light, do it!"

At his signal, the goddess unsealed the halo, the only thing stopping the unimaginable flames and winds from reaching them. The moment she did so, the shield in Jaune's hand glowed purple and he braced himself for the impact.

Out of the halo, a large dark mass rushed out and smashed into the shield. The shield's glow intensified as it absorbed the dark matter leaking out of the halo. Thankfully, most of the momentum was being absorbed but that was still comparing being hit by a car instead of a train.

Jaune also still needed to keep it pointing to the halo and the force was strong enough to strain not just his arm but his whole body. Already, he could feel his body actually slipping back as the pure force was pushing him back.

After some time, he could feel his body about to fall back when something pushed his back.

"I'll help!"

"Light! Thanks!" The small goddess pushed his back with her own. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. Besides, the added help gave Jaune renewed vigor as he willed himself to keep going.

All he needed to do was hold the shield up. One job.

Elsewhere, all the hunters and volunteers were amazed as the smoke started to clear to reveal a non-fiery tornado, one that was much smaller than the super tornado they had dreaded. Even more surprising, it looked to be slowly getting weaker and smaller. The winds were not as strong as before and were even starting to slow down.

Its very presence was still too hot to approach but, what was thought to be the cause for the fall of Vale, may have actually burned itself into the ground.

Another few minutes later, the tornado had started to disperse. Its body of twisting winds was already falling apart and it was clear to anyone else watching that it was about to die in less than half an hour. Before long, all that was left was only a few strong breezes.

In another hour, what should have been the end of Vale was entirely gone.

Not a single town had been destroyed. Not even the first one that had been in its path whose towns people were now currently cheering with glee with some even praising the Brothers. Families hugged each other, knowing they and their livelihoods were saved. People cried, pure relief and gratefulness rushing through them.

All the towns people flooded the streets with everyone calling to bring out the food and the drinks they had thought would be gone by the evening. A grand town-wide party was to be held in celebration of their survival. Grudges and rivalries did not exist at the moment as everyone made merry together. The hunters who had been worriedly stationed there to help them were also joining in on the fun.

Human, Faunus, and even farm animal was united from the pure joy of avoiding death.

"It's a much better reason than wanting to fight a common enemy." Light smiled as she took in the sight even from their current distance. Humanity united to wage war was something she'd never accept. This was about halfway there as it was in celebration of avoiding death. "Now, if only they can come together to preserve life."

"You said something, Light?"

"It's nothing." Light adjusted the head lying on her lap. This time it was her turn to do so as Jaune couldn't stand on his legs anymore. His aura had broken by the last minute so he had taken some injury and,worse, it wouldn't be coming back for a week. Nothing permanent but he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.

He did have a very satisfied look on his face.

"Hey, Jaune. Are you sure this is okay?"

"What is?"

"You won't receive any acknowledgement for this. You will not gain any glory nor any honor from this accomplishment. If you want, I still have enough energy to get you to town if you need to explain."

Jaune thought about it. She was right. In the past, that was all he wanted. Prestige and splendor should have awaited him. He'd be hailed as not just the hero of the town but maybe even of Vale altogether.

But that was in the past.

"Nah. It wouldn't be right. You and Darkness did most of the work. I can't take credit for that." Jaune shook his head. There surely would be more opportunities than this. "Besides, even if I were to go now, I can't introduce Darkness. It wouldn't be fair to her if it was only you."

Even if he couldn't move it any more, he felt a small warmth come from the shield attached to his arm.

"Well said, our Prophet." Light put a hand over Jaune's blonde hair as tired blue eyes stared up at her. Even with his faith, he hadn't been immune to worry. A comfortable wind blew past the two as Light watched the birds above finally take to the skies once more now that the winds had calmed.

Now was a time for rest but Light wanted one last thing.

"Jaune..."

"Yeah?"

"If things had not gone well, if anyone had died, what would you have done?"

"...to be honest, I don't know." Jaune admitted, From above, she could tell he was having a hard time keeping awake. "I hope we never have to find out."

That was all the boy could say before his eyes closed, no doubt for a well deserved rest.

It was a non-answer. For a being of Knowledge, it shouldn't have pleased Light but she felt oddly relieved to hear it. Then again, the first step to gaining knowledge was to admit to the lack of it.

But was such knowledge worth pursuing? For the first time, she, too, had no answer.

Left to herself, a lone goddess watched her prophet rest as her thoughts swirled around her as numerous as the autumn leaves in the wind.

* * *

_It is done._

_Good going, brother. Your divine winds were truly breathtaking._

_Yet it was not enough. Their shrine still stands, much stronger than before._

_No. This is exactly what we wanted. Humanity has remembered just how small and helpless they've always been. They can not rely on only themselves any more. Even now, throughout their merriment, there are those who are calling to a higher power. To names that have not been said for centuries._

_To us. Their betters._

_Indeed. There are those absent here that have already established footholds of faith among the humans. That's not to mention what this surge in Faith will awaken from the depths of their rest._

_Then, perhaps, I too shall gather my own. My Authorities can still increase._

_You do so, Brother. It is time for the experiment of Humanity to resume once more. The Age of Gods shall be restarted anew. And this time, may those humans believe in the right ones. For their own survival._

* * *

"This is quite warm."

"Delicious too. When I heard they were selling some hot cocoa, I knew I had to get some. The trip's been really cold."

Together, Jaune and Light took a sip from their paper cups. The hot cocoa was just sweet enough to remind him of the one served by his mom on certain rainy days. The only downside was that he could taste the artificial milk. Being raised on a farm, Jaune was spoiled with the fresh kind since a kid.

The two were standing by the railing of the ferry. There were a surprising amount of people around them but it wasn't to the point he'd call it crowded. Below them, the blue water of the sea remained calm as the boat threaded through it. Initially, Jaune had worried he'd get motion sickness when they had boarded but he had yet to feel queasy at all. It seemed his weakness did not extend to boats when it did to...everything else.

Winter was in full effect above them. Snowflakes fell from the sky and the air above fogged in a cold mist. It was a cold one this year and his mother had insisted he wear two layers of extra thick arc family sweater. It was matched with a pair of mittens so thick Jaune had no idea if he could even hold onto his sword.

If Jaune thought he had finished the family's wool supply, Light's thick white knitted poncho exemplified warm coziness matched with a white knitted cap that had flaps to cover her ears. He didn't even know where she got the boots. It was almost refreshing seeing the goddess in something that wasn't her usual shrine maiden attire but she did keep the mirror she always wore hanging by her neck.

Jaune finished his cup as he tried to keep his eyes away from the water below. "So you're sure its here?"

"The pool of light is definitely here. I can feel the connection to my power becoming stronger as we approach the island." Light next to him nodded. She then looked down. staring into her cup. "Was it really okay to leave the shrine?"

"It's been a few months since the fire and, besides the tornado, nothing has happened so far. Besides, Darkness said she left some defensive measures before we left." Despite his words, Jaune still looked uneasy. It was a risk but if this paid off, they wouldn't have to worry about such things anymore. "Besides, we're only here for a few days, at most."

Even after getting the funds, Jaune had to fight tooth and nail to convince his family to let him leave by himself. In the middle of the holiday season. For multiple nights too. It was only after Light had said she'd accompany him that he'd been given a strict deadline. He wasn't sure how a girl younger than him was able to convince his parents but he had a bad feeling there was a dangerous misunderstanding going on.

In fact, he was already starting to sweat just thinking about it.

No, wait. He was actually sweating. Was it him or did it suddenly become really hot? Under his two sweaters, what was a comfortable warmth was now what felt like a blazing inferno. Jaune raised his hands to his mouth, bit down, and forced off his mittens. His palms were covered in sweat.

"What's going on?" Jaune took a look at the other passengers to see if he was the only one feeling the heat. It seemed he wasn't as everyone else was taking off their winter apparel but, to his surprise, everyone else was actually wearing rather light clothing underneath.

Some were even starting to remove their tops and bottoms to reveal swimsuits. One guy even had a surfboard with him.

"Jaune." Jaune turned to Light, still wearing her winter get-up along with a sheen of sweat across her face. Although, he doubted her serious expression came from the heat. "It seems something is amiss. I can still detect the pool of light but there seems to be something else siphoning its power."

Off in the distance, Jaune could already see Patch.

Even though it was already in the middle of winter in Vale, just a boat ride away was an island with sandy beaches and a blaring hot sun.

It looked like a land of eternal summer.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Finally, we're at Patch. I know, "filler" chapter. But I wanted it to be winter when they arrived but it seemed a waste to skip a whole season.
> 
> Tbh, I kinda just wanted Jaune to have magic before he goes to Patch but it kinda got off the rails. It was NOT meant to be this long.
> 
> Irish AND Latin? Don't think too hard on it. If you want, imagine they're just gibberish in the world of Remnant that just so happens to have meaning in ours.
> 
> And, no, Jaune won't be dropping stars any time he feels like it. The gods need faith and this was practically what all of Vale wanted even if it was just the town's requests he had. Light's followers helped. Gods do not fight, their humans do.
> 
> Aura flashing when low being different from aura flashing when breaking is one of the most annoying things I've learned recently. Just having one flash already didn't allow you to feel tension in fights because they still had aura. But now, you have to wait two times and hope you don't confuse them.
> 
> Also, if anyone has any names or ideas for gods, leave them in a review. I don't really want to just search up some random ones. Or I'll have to throw a word into a translator of a random language and hope it sounds good.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters

It was hot.

The sun glared down at the tiny humans below and, much like the old fairy tale, Jaune wished he could glare back to shoo it away. It didn't help that the thing was obnoxiously bright. Not that staring into the sun hurt his eyes anymore as he had found out.

Maybe, the whole thing had been just too sudden. Going from the harsh coolness of winter to the overwhelming heat of summer may have had some sort of whiplash. He didn't even know how to explain to his family if he'd come back with a tan. It's not like he was supposed to be on a small island in Vale not Vacuo.

At least his magic was helping out. Rubbing his hands over his arms provided some coolness although Jaune didn't want to empty his reserves just because he was feeling hot. It didn't help that his companion looked completely unbothered, at all.

The God of Light took a sip of her drink, a blue lemonade concoction so sour and salty that, combined with the heat, made Jaune want to vomit. She actually looked to be enjoying it, from the way her legs were swinging from her chair.

The goddess had changed into a two-piece swimsuit, a top striped white and pink that held up her modest chest paired with a dark red bottom barely covered by a short translucent white skirt that didn't even reach the top half of her knees. The short length was emphasized by the single dark red garter wrapped around her right thigh which the skirt's edge barely grazed. It was all topped by a thin jacket with layers of frill at its bottom made of the same barely see-through material as her skirt.

The whole ensemble was as eye-catching as the expensive price tag had been.

Jaune, himself, opted for a simple pair of board trunks. Although, even that cost quite a lean lien. Not to mention the two had spent the whole morning shopping for clothes to wear. Jaune had only packed winter apparel and so needed a whole new wardrobe or he'd melt. The situation only felt worse when the clothes being sold were clearly overpriced or was that just his small town perspective playing a part?

Really, it almost felt like he had fallen into some sort of tourist trap. It was only the ridiculous amount of lien that Light had earned that made sure only the sun above was making him sweat.

Speaking of tourists…

"Hm, there are quite a lot of people," hummed Light, placing down her glass as she took in the sight of all the people at the beach

"Tell me about it." Jaune grumbled back. He wasn't even sure how Light was able to get a table of the beachside cafe they were staying at. Sure it was somewhat pricey but Jaune wanted to rest his feet after spending the whole day looking for reasonably priced summer clothes he wouldn't be using again in months.

Everywhere else was also packed full.

Contributing to the overall heat of the island were all the other tourists that had flocked their way into Patch. The sandy beachside of the small island like sardines. Jaune swore there were more people here than the amount he's ever met in his life.

It was holiday season too so he couldn't blame people if they wanted to get away from the cold of winter and relax at a beach that wasn't in Vacuo or Mistral. This all at least explained why hotel prices had skyrocketed...even if some hadn't existed a few months back.

Not just the tourists made up the crowd, many students of Signal were also there enjoying the holiday break. This meant many pretty girls his age were walking around in swimsuits which overstimulated the young blonde. His small town had barely any girls his age with most of them being his own sisters. Even their waitress was serving their food in a swimsuit combined with an apron which meant he couldn't keep asking for refills of water without sounding creepy.

Just another reason why it was so hot.

"It does not seem we'll be able to explore the island at this rate." spoke up Light, after finishing her drink. There was just too much of a crowd. "Plus, the number of people makes it hard for me to pinpoint any singular source of life."

Another reason for spending the whole morning looking for clothes was to give Light an excuse to walk around the island. However, it didn't seem like she found anything.

"What about that thing you said earlier? About a god using the pool's power?"

"Since we've set foot upon this land, it seemed we've entered another god's domain." The goddess' mouth thinned. "Whether they are the reason the Pool of Light has been compromised I can not say."

"So we can't reach out to this God then, huh?" Jaune shook his head. There would be no point as they wouldn't know if they were friend or foe. What should have been a simple survey had become much more complicated.

Thankfully, their morning did reap something besides Jaune's wallet.

"I did find something out." Jaune pulled out a pamphlet from his bag. It was the one of many given to him when he entered the island. It contained a map of Patch, some "go to" places, and a short story of the island's origin. "I thought the legends surrounding it could give us some hints."

Sure it could have been something made up by a tourism intern to give the island more mythology but it was the best lead they had.

The pamphlet read that, back in time immemorial, a group of humans had rebelled against their creator gods. The humans had lost which led their leader and the other members of the rebellion to be eternally banished into the depths of the planet. After some time, even the gods had grown tired of their creations and had left the planet. Their last act was to use part of the moon to seal away the hole housing the prisoners.

This piece of the moon, because of its purpose, was named Patch.

The recent eternal summer was said to be the heat from the core of the planet finally reaching the surface after so long.

When Jaune had researched further, there weren't any real explanations for the eternal summer. Much like Forever Fall, a forest that never left autumn, it seemed most people had just accepted it being some weird side effect of some special dust.

The goddess' expression had grown somber when he retold what was on the pamphlet, especially when he had mentioned a rebellion. However, that then shifted to confusion, her eyebrows pulling together.

"I do not remember anything like prisoners however that may have been after my time. After all, another god calls this island its domain." Light's eyes hardened, internally assessing the situation. "We will try again tomorrow but see if Darkness has any insights tonight."

"Right." Jaune's shoulders slumped as he agreed. For some reason, he had believed they'd just arrive on the island and run into the Pool easy peasy. He took out his scroll to message the host he'd be staying with that he was going to be there in an hour or so.

Just as he finished, two glasses were placed on the table. Both the same blue lemonade drink Light had just finished. He didn't remember ordering anymore (nor would he).

"On the house." The cute waitress clarified with a tantalizing smile that had Jaune wonder if his face had gotten sunburned. She left without any other words not that Jaune could reply with how tongue-tied he was. It was only after watching her walk back to the counter did he regain his senses

"...what was that about?"

Light did not reply. She simply took one of the drinks and took a long loud sip from it until only ice remained.

* * *

It was already past lunch when Jaune got to the lodge he'd be staying at for his duration of the trip.

Just him, of course. Light had turned back into a sword mainly so they could save money. He had booked at a room for one. Homes turned into B&B places or dorms were common in Patch, mainly due to visiting Signal students. There had been more than usual when he had checked and now he knew why. Also, explained why hotel prices had spiked up.

Jaune had chosen a simple wood cabin lodging. It was a little far off from the city but it was also closer to the woods which may have put off some people but if a mystical pool of magical energy was going to be anywhere, it was probably in the Grimm infested forests.

Plus, free breakfast too.

The biggest con had been that Jaune would basically be renting the room while the house owners were still living in it but he couldn't afford to complain. Besides, anything less than the nine people in one house he was used to, was already a godsend. It also wasn't like he planned to stay there that long. Since last summer, he had barely stayed in his home own too.

On a side note, he really needed to just move into the shrine already but there were still way too many things to fix up like water and electricity.

Already by the door was a blonde girl that looked to be abut his age. She could have stood in for one of his sisters but none of them had ever let their hair grow that wild. Lilac eyes met his own when she finally noticed him. She waved her hand and Jaune waved back.

"You're Jaune, right?"

"Yeah." replied Jaune. After an awkward pause, he then over his scroll." Uh, here. You can verify it with my scroll. And you're...Tai?"

"Yang, actually." The girl brought out her own to confirm Jaune's booking on the lodging app. "My dad was the one who set it up so it's his name but I've been the one getting the messages."

"Oh. That's cool." Jaune's grip on his backpack tightened as he waited for the girl, Yang, to finish things up on her end. Eventually, she finally looked up with approval in what she saw.

"Everything looks right here." Yang motioned to the house behind her. "Well, let's get you settled in then."

They both entered the log cabin, Yang first with Jaune following after. The interior was plain but warm. There a bookshelf lined with volumes and various pictures. The kitchen and dining room were only separated by a single counter. It felt small but Jaune had lived in a house where at least nine people lived in so it may have just been his own perspective.

As they made their way over to his room, Yang went over the rules previously agreed upon. His room had its own bathroom and even a mini fridge so he didn't need to use theirs. If he wanted to use the kitchen he needed to buy his own ingredients and clean up after but was welcome to use any of the equipment. He could use the internet but not to download anything too excessive.

Of course, he wasn't allowed to bring anyone over.

All things Jaune had already known but he guessed it was part of the process.

When they made it to the room, Yang handed him over a key before using opening the door.

The room was simple. A painting of a boat, a television, and a mini fridge were basically all it had besides a single bed by the window with a view of the woods outside. For Jaune who had lived bunking with his sisters his whole life, it looked perfect.

"You're allowed to go in and out when you please but we do have a curfew at around ten so try not to make too much noise by then."

"I don't really plan to."

"That's a shame. Patch has really been upping their club scene." Yang replied with a grin. "Everyone else used to just go to Vale but, nowadays, it's freezing over there."

"Any suggestions?"

"Interested now, huh?" The girl raised an eyebrow matched with a self-pleased look. "I'd suggest hitting the South district. All the beaches are up East but the real night life is in the South. That's where all the new clubs can be found. Some don't even check ID...not that I'd know."

Jaune nodded. It made sense that the two largest tourist places would be next to each other. Maybe worth looking into. "What about the North?"

"That's Signal." Yang then walked over to the dresser and took what looked to be a flyer on it. She handed it to Jaune who was for once on the receiving end. "If you have time, come check it out. I'm obligated to give this to you."

It was a flyer much like the ones he made. Only this one was advertising Signal, a combat school for Hunters.

"I'll consider it." Jaune pocketed the flyer. There was still one thing he needed to ask. "Any places I should avoid by the way? Grimm-wise, I mean."

"Western part of the island and the forests in general. It's not as dangerous as outside the Kingdoms but consider yourself warned." She eyed the weapon strapped to his waist. "Good place if you're looking for practice. Students use it all the time. Just try to avoid it at night."

"Yeah. Okay." Taking a look into the room again, Jaune set down his backpack on the bed. He turned back to his host. "Well. I think I'll fix up. Anything else I need to know?"

"Breakfast is at seven. You're invited to join us but just message me if you want me to set it aside."

"Cool. I'll be leaving after I freshen up anyways." Jaune returned a smile. "Thanks again. You won't even notice I'm here. It's actually my first time travelling without family"

"Lucky." Yang chuckled. "Between the two of us, this B&B thing actually was my idea. I'm even bunking with my sis right now so all proceeds will go to a new bike." Yang gave him a wink. "All tips too."

With that Yang finally left, closing the door behind her.

Jaune released a long exhale. His shoulders shagged and his back rounded. He had really been expecting some old crusty dude, not some pretty girl. Who else would live out in the wilderness in a log cabin?

Shaking his head, he started unpacking his things. The faster he got dressed. the faster he could leave.

* * *

Night at Patch was different from night back at Jaune's home town.

First off, it wasn't as dark. The people here actually bothered with street lamps with their roads at least. It was just a little past dinner time and it was weird for the world to not have died down. There were still people roaming the streets, mostly tourists like him he'd guess from their attire.

Second, there were actually some stores that were open. Bars, both the hip and shady kinds, were open for those who wanted to live a bit after hours. Back home, all businesses closed around this time, as well.

It was the first time he'd even seen a twenty-four-hour convenience store chain in real life. More so, the never closing Schnee Dust stores.

From what he'd heard, before the eternal summer boom, Patch was mainly known for its combat school, Signal. It made a lot of its tourism from the influx of Hunter and Huntress hopefuls who could train there even at a younger age then Beacon. Some used it as a prepatory school but others just got their licenses there.

Even Jaune had considered applying to Signal to begin his Hunter legacy. He was supposed to send his application to the mail the day after he'd try out the family heirlooms. There was an odd sense of wistfulness thinking that he still ended up going to Patch, albeit for different reasons.

Speaking of which, one of those reasons was floating by his side.

Not seeming to care when the occasional bystanders stared at her, the God of Darkness pale bare toes hovered a few inches over the dirt ground below. While that part never changed, the goddess did have an alternate outfit consisting of a simple sleeveless dark summer dress topped with a wide brimmed straw hat. It would have been easy to mistake her for a regular girl if she hadn't been floating by him.

There was also the silver halo above her head but that was neither here nor there.

Now that Jaune thought about it, this was the first time Darkness really left the shrine. He glanced to his tagalong partner and she didn't look to share the same wide-eyed fascination Light had in the morning. A blank dour look was etched on her face which he wanted to say was her being uncomfortable…or bored.

"So, human. Do you have any idea on where the Pool of Light is?"

"Honestly, not really. We did some research earlier and I don't think we found anything that conclusive." Jaune patted the bare sword by his hip. They were lucky he found a holster for it even if leaving it swinging around was rather reckless. He had wanted to buy another sheathe but he felt Darkness would have been slighted over it. "If Light couldn't detect it, then I was hoping you could think of something."

"I appreciate the sentiment but if my sibling can't do it than I cannot, as well." replied Darkness, looking oddly pleased with herself even after admitting she couldn't do anything. The deity hummed, narrowing her eyes. "I do detect something amiss in this land. The air is tense with magical energy. The earth below feels almost unstable too."

"Like an earthquake?"

"Nay. The plates rumble yet it is not the planet that speaks." She lightly tapped her chin with her thumb before shaking her head. "This may just be an unrelated matter outside of our objective. Instead, let us follow the Grimm."

"The Grimm?" Jaune took a glance to his side and looked past all the buildings where only the top of Patch's dark woods laid. Yang had told him that was where the Grimm mostly resided.

"Indeed. They may be drawn to the Pool of Light. It's our best bet."

"Then should we go now?"

"There's no need to rush. You can go with Light in the day. Its power should be stronger and easier to detect by then. Besides," It was then did Darkness' emerald eyes gleam with a dark luster and something akin to a flame seemed to alight within them. "There is something else we must look into."

"And that is?"

The goddess did not give an answer. Instead, she floated forward then left, right in front of a certain stand by the road. To Jaune's surprise, the stand was still open with its front display lit up to show off all the delicacies on sale.

Forty flavors, to be more specific.

Like the child her body was, Darkness leaned against the glass display, protecting the multiple tubs of ice cream from the outside air. She stared into it with such wide eyes Jaune may have been forgiven to think he'd forget she was a goddess.

"Human," spoke Darkness as if that single word was enough to give her intentions away. It sadly was.

Sighing, Jaune allowed his body to relax. The thought of fighting Grimm again had set it on edge but it may have been easier in the day just as she said. Jaune reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He wanted to be a little thriftier but these funds were technically the shrine's funds. Which meant these would go into anything the goddesses desired.

He handed the wallet to the girl, who was still scanning through all the flavors. The blonde wasn't even sure if she knew how to use money but there was a first time for anything. Jaune almost wanted to tell her to just buy them all but felt like that was a slippery slope he did not want to cross yet.

"Try to pick one for Light too."

The girl did not reply, just continuing her browsing. Instead, Jaune turned to the bored looking receptionist. He couldn't even blame the guy for just browsing his phone after Darkness made it obvious she'd be taking a long while.

"Hey, uh, do you know where the closest bathroom is?" Besides the road, went unsaid. Sure, it was sort of okay back in a small town like his but this place actually had concrete for roads, not just earthy paths.

The man pointed to his right. "There should be a porta, past that block. Try there."

"Thanks." Jaune then glanced over at the still deciding Goddess. "Hey, I'm just going to…"

"Do not bother me with your human worries." A small hand was raised. "I will simply be here. And if you do need me, I will hear your call as your shield. Just make it quick."

Just as he was about to run off, Jaune unsheathed the sword and leaned it next to Darkness. It was less of giving the girl a weapon to defend herself with and more that Jaune realized it'd be kind of weird to have Light technically be next to him as he used the toilet.

"I'll be right back!" Jaune yelled as he waved off. It was a bit of a walk but he was able to spot what he needed without much difficulty.

The portable toilet was just where the man said it was. It was even relatively clean. Much cleaner than any outhouse Jaune had ever been in. Finally, after a whole day, he was finally able to relieve himself.

Much more awkward than having Light next to him, the teenager couldn't even think of doing it in the bathroom of a girl his age, especially when she was living in the same house. His sisters were one thing but an unrelated girl was another story. Awkward teenage things were awkward.

Jaune left the toilet, his body much less tense. Whoever set it up had also thoughtfully made sure there was a faucet by the side. He leaned down next to it, allowing the water to rinse his hands. No sooner had he finished scrubbing behind his nails when he felt a familiar pull to his side.

Without hesitation, the prophet leaned back. Jumping away from the leaking facet right as a large body of black smashed through the portable toilet he had just used.

A Beowulf (or Canine of Carnage as Darkness liked to call it) had indiscriminately ran right through where he had just been relieving himself moments ago. Jaune should have taken that as a sign of danger yet the Grimm barely gave him a glance as it removed itself from the wreckage and continued its charge away from Jaune.

What's worse more Beowolves followed after, much smaller than the one in the lead which could've been the Alpha of the pack. They all passed him without a trace of care. For a moment, Jaune even felt a bit insulted by it even if he knew he'd have stood no chance without any weapons.

Was it just his low aura supply?

Instead, he turned towards the direction they were all heading. Even if he somehow lucked out, that didn't mean others would be the same. He needed to warn somebody to bring in some actual Hunters before anyone got hurt.

Before he could say anything, all words died in his throat and his eyes widened as they finally took in the street the Grimm were running into, no, whatever they were headed to face.

In the distance stood a large humanoid figure. There was no face on the creature. Its pale body and limbs were thick and fat which contrasted with its thin gangly neck made Jaune think of a plucked whole chicken. Cuts and bruises sported its body, leaking out a glowing green substance that made Jaune immediately understand that this monster was neither natural nor Grimm.

As if to prove that point, the Beowolves lunged at their target that towered over them. On their credit, the assault was visibly hurting the creature. White claws and sharp teeth did their best to plunge into and tear apart what they could. Wounds were extended and green blood bathed the ruthless pack of Grimm.

The problem was that no matter what they did, their attacks didn't look to be affecting the monster at all.

It continued to stand still, as if in a daze, while a large number of Beowolves shredded into its body. For a moment, it looked as if it would simply be content with losing this, what looked to be, long war of attrition. Jaune had even considered to come back to help it out.

But then its stomach's flesh tore to reveal a human mouth full of large white teeth.

A high pitched shriek escaped the cavity, stopping even the Grimm in their tracks. A bad choice considering the monster then took one in each hand and stuffing it into the mouth in its torso. One crunch that even Jaune felt and two bisected Grimm laid on the street. The large creature's wounds started to close up as the other Beowolves warily stepped back from it. However, it was too late for such caution as the giant continued its feast of Grimm.

Unfortunately, Grimm weren't known for backing off so Jaune could only watch in horror as the creature made short work of the dark wolves. Some were bitten through by the large mouth. Some were torn in two by the sheer strength of its thick arms. The alpha Beowolf was over powered by a single large stomp, the sheer weight cracking the road beneath.

It had only taken a short moment but what was once a group of twenty something Grimm was now just ash in the air.

Now, Jaune Arc was not stupid. He may have been able to make an argument in battling a Beowulf or four but he knew his journey could have ended right then and there in a portable toilet. This thing? This thing would use him as its toilet and not in a lewd way.

But the Grimm did attack it. Maybe, it was just like the Guardian of the shrine? Maybe, this thing was protecting the land?

As if reading his thoughts, it turned to his direction and Jaune felt every thread attached to his body _pull_.

Jaune lifted his foot, knowing he needed to get to Darkness as fast as possible. If push came to shove, then he still had his semblance. He turned his body, ready to make a mad dash for his life.

"There you are!"

A squeaky voice barely entered Jaune's ears over a bang as loud as the winds of a hurricane. A flash of red had slammed into the monster's chest and, to the blonde's amazement, lifted it off its feet and sent it flying away.

Just as it was about to crash down onto the ground, the monster, despite its rotund heavy size, used its hands to flip itself up with the dexterity of an experienced dancer. With an enraged roar, it used its arms to try to grab whatever had hit it.

The key word was try as a red shape that was many times smaller than the giant's size zipped around the beast like an annoying fly. Glowing green seemed to trail whatever it was; monstrous blood oozing out from the cuts that were left in its trail.

It expertly dodged all the attacks, the surprisingly fast arms still unable to close any gaps.

It did one final attack that left gashes trailing all over the monster's legs before landing a little away from it, standing still enough that Jaune could finally take in whatever it was.

It wore a cutesy black dress and boots with layers of frilly red all around which was contradicted by the menacing red and black scythe that was possibly as long as Jaune was tall. All topped with a red hooded cloak that covered most of the head.

It was a girl.

And from what Jaune had seen so far, a _magical_ one too. She almost looked like the ones from the shows his younger sisters would watch (that also ended up surprisingly having better action than what he watched).

"Red like Roses: Part II!" With a yell, the weapon in her hand shifted. Its shape contorted and became malleable as clay, keeping its red, lack, and steel colors. It only took a second but instead of a scythe that Death itself could have wielded, a much larger sword was in its place. The hilt was blood red and the blade was deep black, intercut with silver lines over its body.

It was too long to be called a blade by anyone but the giant she faced. It was too thick and wide and terribly improper to even be called a weapon. It would be easier to say it was some sort of cursed monolith, the lines over its body glowing with ancestral power.

Of course, the girl carried it as if the weapon weighed nothing, holding it up high with two hands. She blurred and, a second later, the large blade was stabbed deep into the monster's leg. For the first time in the night, the giant actually cried out in pain. A hand tried to grab her but she spun to her right, the part of her blade lodged inside detaching from the main weapon.

Another slash dug deep into the opposite leg and, again, to dodge the retaliation the girl detached another piece of her now shortening blade. She continued her assault the same way, wielding the large and clunky weapon with a deadly grace of a butcher. It may have helped that each time she made an attack, the dark long sword grow shorter and shorter until eventually only a red hilt was left.

Right Leg. Left Leg. Collarbone. Upper right arm. Windpipe. Lower spine. Groin. Left side.

Each place held a sharp dark matter large enough to kill any human. It only spoke more of the giant's monstrous endurance that it still stood unhindered.

The girl backed away with a twirl. She then leaned down, as if she was about to take a runner's position, before her body exploded into small red shards. Nine twisting red streams launched from where she had stood and towards her opponent.

_Petals_. Jaune realized as the breeze brought some over to him. Not to mention the familiar flowery scent. _Rose petals._

In an instant, she was on the other side of the giant, her large broad sword in her hand, back in full length. Geysers of green erupted out of the monster's body, all the places where the girl had cut. The street was practically a river of the ooze, splashing as the monster fell to its knees.

It wasn't the only one as the girl fell to her knees, as well.

"Hey!" An inorganic voice yelled out with worry which got the hooded girl's attention. Her head raised and she turned to her weapon. Her body shook with struggle but eventually she was able to get back on her feet.

"I...I'm okay! Red like Roses: Part III!"

With her words, the weapon in her hands once again changed. With a long dark body topped with a red jewel, the staff in her hands matched her outfit perfectly even if it was as long as a pole arm.

"Intense like Ivy!"

Slamming her weapon into the ground, the strange girl yelled a phrase before jumping up high into the air leaving a burst of petals in her wake.

The monster turned its head up to follow its foe but this caused it to miss what was happening underneath it. Thick vines suddenly burst forth from underground, bursting from the concrete road directly below the monster.

A strangled inhuman cry was released as the green appendages pierced all the way through its body the mouth that housed it. Their power so intense the monster was lifted off the ground, fully impaling through. The vines continued to shoot past the monster's body and into the air where the red hooded girl was waiting high above.

"Double like daffodils!" With her cry, three identical hooded figures appeared surrounding her, all of them carrying the red scythe she had originally wielded. The vines wrapped around each one's waist as all the girls readied their weapons.

However, even impaled, the monster was not done yet. It raised its appendages up, trying to use its limb to cover its body but it seemed a futile effort. The vines pulled taught and retracted themselves at high speed, pulling each copy of the girl with them. Four curved blades came down like an executioner's guillotine.

One. Two. Three. Four.

Four instant slices that cut through their prey's defenses, showering the world in dark ichor. Four limbs detached from a body, flying in wide arcs. Four girls landing below, all fading away into a gust of rose petals. All except one who was already right below the limbless body, moving faster than gravity could take hold of it.

"Finishing move! Red like Roses-" With a mighty shout, the girl raised her hands to the sky above where a large body awaited them. If she didn't do anything soon, it would crush her like a bug. She had no weapons for once but her hands were now covered by a pair of red and black gloves.

Even from his distance, Jaune could see them light up like a sun in the dark night.

"Happily Ever After!"

Just as the body reached her palms, what could be only described as a torrent of red burst forth from the girls hands. It was like watching a shining geyser of blood erupt, fully encapsulating the monsters large body. The sound was just as fierce too, as if he was next to roaring rapids that drowned out all other sounds around. The beam shot high above, unbound by gravity, where the dark red melded into the night sky.

When it finally died down, there was nothing left of the monster. The only thing in the clearing was the girl, who looked exhausted, and a glowing green ball of fire, floating above her. Even the limbs that had been cut as well as its green fluids seemingly vanished.

Reaching up, the girl grabbed the ethereal ball before placing it into a basket she produced from thin air. For a second, she took a moment of respite with her back curling and arms falling to the side, no doubt needing to take a breath after a battle like that. Jaune could now see her better. The power of her final attack had thrown her hood off to reveal short dark hair with trailing red tips framed a young face. If her were to guess, she would be around Light and Darkness' age.

Her most striking feature though were her glowing silver eyes...that were now looking right at him.

Before he could even say anything, the stranger was gone, leaving only floating rose petals where she used to be. It took Jaune a whole minute before he remembered to move.

He later found Darkness, still stuck to the glass' display. Sighing to himself, he decided to call it a night...after Darkness finally decided.

* * *

Ruby Rose woke up with heavy eyes.

Something one had to get used to about the current climate of Patch was that it was always hot. Of course, Yang loved it, saying she barely felt the heat at all. Ruby didn't know how with, the thickness her sister's mane was like a heat-absorbing sponge.

Groaning, she turned her head to the side to see her own face lying next to her pillow. Worse, anything below its neck was non-existent. The resemblance should have been fascinatingly creepy but the morbidity of the situation had long since passed the fourteen-year-old.

With a yawn, Ruby took the doppelganger head and shot it across the room and into an open brown picnic basket. It slid in perfectly, and the girl allowed herself a fist pump.

It was a good way to start the day.

Still in her pajamas, the girl jumped out of her bed, slipping into a pair of comfy slippers. She turned back to fix her blanket over the bed. For a moment, she considered putting away the now headless body lying on her it but decided to do so after breakfast.

Ruby then moved across the room to a dark ball of floof next to the picnic blanket on the floor. The ball uncurled to reveal a black wolf cub that was barely the size of the basket. It yawned its tiny jaws while stretching up its hind. A tail of red fur waggled in the air.

"Morning, Crescent!"

Her first words of the day got the attention of the tiny animal. A bright silver eye narrowed and glared at the girl. It shook its body for a second before turning its head to her. Its mouth opened but it was not a growl that left it.

"You seem happy this morning. Annoyingly so."

A deep inhumane voice left the mouth of the tiny beast. It was neither male nor female, just a deep guttural that didn't fit the cute puppy before her.

"Well, we caught a big one, right? Better than another night of nothing." Ruby stretched her arms over her head, starting some light stretches.

That last soul had taken a lot out of her. Not only did it run away when she was right about to capture it but it had insane endurance and stamina too. That they also tended to attract Grimm was another problem in on itself. It felt much stronger than the past ones she had faced so far.

"That is true. You performed rather well, too. It seems you've grown used to this." The pup jumped on top of the bed to stare at Ruby who was still stretching. "There was a bystander, however."

"Huh? I thought people can't recognize me when I soul hunt?" asked Ruby as she bent forward to stimulate her back. Rogue souls knowing her identity wasn't too much of a problem. It was her family finding out she was going out to fight creatures much more dangerous than Grimm that was the issue.

Besides, Ruby knew every comic book hero needed a secret identity.

"The illusion holds. Mortals will simply see the usual floating red hood." assured Crescent. "It's just that you unleashed quite a bit of firepower without taking the human into account."

"Oh yeah. Oops." Ruby couldn't help it! Such a large target was rare to find which meant she couldn't go all out that often. Most of the time, the rogue souls rarely got larger than dad-sized. "But I think he turned out fine? My magic is non-lethal, after all! "

"For your sake, I hope so."

"Hey hey! So, anything new?" Ruby never failed to ask her partner yet every time she got the same answer. And from the way the pup's ears flopped down, it wouldn't be different.

"I'm sorry, Ruby. I still cannot locate the soul of your mother," admitted the dog. "As usual, I do not know if she's simply too far into the reincarnation cycle or that I just lack the power to find her."

"Or that she's alive!"

"...that too." The pup actually looked torn between resignation of either its own weakness or perhaps to just give the girl before it this one thing. "I do hope that is the case, as well. It would be embarrassing for a God of Souls to not locate a simple one."

"I'm sure you'll get to it." Finished, Ruby made her way to the wolf pup to pet it on the head. For a moment, Crescent nuzzled back to her before it caught itself. Dark fur bristled as it jumped back.

"And whose fault is it that I'm in this predicament?"

The right answer was that it was the girl who had stumbled into a gate to the afterlife and somehow forced it open. The God of Souls assigned to said gate still had no idea how she did it as there were many measures in place to prevent such things.

Thankfully, the girl had agreed to help locate all the runaway souls she had let loose on the island of Patch. In return, the god now known as Crescent agreed to help her find her mother (or her soul). It had also granted her the means to battle said runaway souls.

However, before Ruby could give her usual rebuttal of the whole thing not being entirely her fault. there was a knock on the door followed by a "Breakfast is ready!".

"We shall discuss your use of ammunitions later. You may have gained strength but you still do not use it all efficiently." The pup then leapt off the bed and into Ruby's arms. Its black and red body then started to morph until it was a rectangular metal object. To anyone else looking, it was a gun. Worked as good as one too.

"Ooookaaayyyy..." Smiling that she got off the hook of another sermon, Ruby strapped it onto her pajamas waist and exited her room. It was bad enough she was getting them from her dad and sister for all the times she needed to sneak out but the girl didn't need it from her own weapon.

This was why the spare body spell was the best idea she thought of so far.

To think it was just a few months back in summer when she was a thirteen-year-old girl who thought she was in over her head. A few months later, she was now a fourteen-year old kick-ass magical girl with a decent amount of souls under her belt.

Sure, summer had yet to leave Patch thanks to her accidental mishap but it looked like it was really boosting tourism. The island had only been really known for having a hunter academy in Signal was now a tropical resort. Grimm levels had also plummeted thanks to this and a variety of reasons, namely runaway souls eating them for power. No one was really getting hurt besides the occasional rogue soul attacks which she did prevent.

If people wanted snow, they could get it at Atlas.

Happily disregarding the damages she had inadvertently done to the Patch farming community, Ruby left her room with a hum, intent on getting breakfast. Already there was a chatter by the table which the young girl ignored in favor of getting some milk from the fridge first.

Still, it would have been rude to not greet the blondes at the table.

"Hey dad, Yang, dad."

Taking a small carton of milk, Ruby was about to pop one in before her brain was able to process the information. Immediately, her hand went to the weapon strapped to her waist.

Had the spare body spell hit her dad again? She did not need to relive that episode of her life.

Just as she was about to activate her memory magic, she realized that her dad didn't look that lanky.

"Hey, Sis. This is Jaune. You know, the guy I told you was staying here for a few days." Yang was smiling as her eyes burned into her sister's brain the warning to not shoot the guy who could give her a bad review and cost her the chance of getting a bike.

"Come and sit with us, Ruby." Her father didn't look off put by her behavior but there was a small stern look in his eyes. Most likely from recognizing that she was about to pull a weapon on a stranger. "Jaune was just telling us about something that happened last night."

Hey! Yang wasn't the one who was going to have to deal with the women of the town and an usually angry black bird. Ruby's quick reaction to preventing another mess like that to happen was completely justified!

It was also ignored as Ruby couldn't say such things out loud. Instead, she just gave a sheepish look and stood by the table. Although, now that she thought about it, eating breakfast in front of a stranger in her pajamas was kind of weird.

Time to skedaddle.

"Well, as much as I want to, I got stuff to do. Uh, girl stuff. I'm going to eat later, Yang. Nice meeting you, John-" The name stuck at the back of Ruby's throat the moment her silver eyes laid eyes on their guest. She had thought he had looked familiar because he resembled her father but, actually, didn't she know this guy?

Worse, when his blue eyes met hers, she could see something that shouldn't have been possible for a person "Ruby Rose" had never met: Recognition.

It was then the words she feared the most left his lips.

"Weren't you the one from last night?"

"S-static like Statice!" In less than a second, long dark purple flowers bloomed around the girl. All around her, color started to drain from the world, leaving it a stark monochrome except for the purple flowers. Yang, her father, the whole house around looked as if someone had put them on a black and white filter. Nothing moved besides a young girl in her pajamas.

And things were going so well, too.

Ruby bent down and curled her knees to her chest, trying to resist the urge to scream. She had not only used up one of her strongest spells (which would need sufficient time to recharge) but, thinking about it, wasted it because she had panicked.

She had a perfect alibi in the form of her body double so she could have easily played ignorant. Plus, it was dark so there was no way he should've been able to see her.

Probably, the hardest part of her side job was keeping her identity a secret. Fighting came naturally but the deflections and the lies were hard.

Actually, it was her partner that wanted to shroud Ruby's identity. Ruby had wanted to at least tell Yang about the mess she had gotten herself into but the God of Souls suggested otherwise. Apparently, things could get really bad if other malignant beings found out that the Gate of Souls had been damaged and it wanted any mentions to be kept to the minimum people possible.

Ruby was still dead set on telling her sister but possibly when the reaper was competent enough to not worry her.

"I believe we agreed that was for emergencies only." A voice came from her waist which lightened as her weapon morphed back into a black and red wolf puppy. It moved next to the prone girl and gave her a light nudge. "I'm surprised you actually listened for once."

"I'm sorry, Crescent. I just...huh?" Ruby looked up to see that the puppy wasn't actually looking at her. In fact, it was looking back at the table with narrow eyes and clenched teeth. It was the tensest Ruby had seen it.

There, sitting on the blonde guest's lap was a red-eyed girl. The girl moved her gaze away from Ruby and to the pup next to her. To Ruby's amazement, the girl's "chair" was moving as well, as their guest rubbed the back of his blonde hair with an awkward look on his face.

Red. Yellow. Other colors that didn't belong in an uncolored world void of time. Nothing but those unaffected by Ruby's spell was supposed to have color.

The crimson-eyed girl sighed.

"I never did get that ice cream."

* * *

_Wise up!_

**Name:** Jaune Arc

**Nature** : True Neutral (False)

**Strength** : D

**Endurance** : E

**Agility** : D

**Magic** : D

**Aura** : E

**Personal Skills:**

Divine Core of the Twin Gods (False) - A

After making a deal with a family heirloom, all of Jaune Arc's current and future aura reserves are used to maintain the God of Light and God of Darkness. Reduces Aura to E rank and prevents any increases in said stat.

So far, has only granted Jaune eyes that see through day and night.

Thread of Death - C (B)

Grants a sense of incoming death that manifests as visible threads of destiny. Similar to Instinct, but can only detect attacks that guarantee a deathblow (or aura breakage). Does not contribute to battle knowledge of affects the flow of battle. Gains a rank up at night.

Yin-Yang - E (EX)

A Skill given to those who have both Yin and Yang sides that, although opposite, embrace, cooperate and coexist with each other. Attached to the founding dualism gods, this skill manifests in Jaune's magic. At his current level, Jaune can both heat and cool his hands.

When his semblance is activated, the skill is tremendously ranked up and any additive effect involving two parties becomes multiplicative.

**Semblance:**

Aura Amplification - A

The ability to amplify another's aura. User links own aura supply to another's. At the cost of one's own aura, target's aura (and semblance) will be strengthened. Due to lack of reserves, Jaune can not give any of his aura as he had already given it any future reserves to the Gods attached to him.

Bridge - E

To link one target's aura to another target. User uses one's own aura as a bridge to link aura's together. With training, Jaune would have been able to act as a receptacle for other aura users to transfer their aura to a single person. Currently, can only link the two gods attached to his soul to one another.

**Weapon:**

Creocea Mors: _The Yellow Death -_ D

A family heirloom rumored to be the first recorded shifting weapon where the user did not immediately die in their first fight. Wielded by many Arcs beforehand with an unbreakable sword and an infallible shield.

Fell out of use after people realized adding guns to their swords made more sense.

After reigniting the Faith system, the two gods sealed within gained access to a human form depending on the current time: Light during the day and Darkness during the night.

* * *

_Wise up!_

**Name:** Petal Storm a.k.a. Ruby Rose

**Nature** : Neutral Good

**Strength** : C

**Endurance** : D

**Agility** : A

**Magic** : B

**Aura** : C

**Personal Skills:**

Silver Eyes - B

A blessing from the God of Light that allows one to manifest the god's power through their eyes. Can turn Grimm into stone regardless of level or resistance. At the moment, Ruby has not learned how to activate these.

Transformation (Magical Girl) - C

Renders any attempts to figure out the skill holder's identity null as long as the skill holder holds true to her creed as a Magical Girl who fights for justice. All observers will only see a red hooded figure while all digital evidences will be blurred. Can be only seen through by those with Divinity.

When transformed, user gains pseudo-access to the Faith system. Boosts Magic according to popularity of alternate identity. However, once true identity is revealed, all increased parameters are removed and skill becomes inaccessible.

Grim Reaper - A

A title granted to those who serve as keepers for gates of the afterlife; where the efficiency in slaying of spirits has become a Skill in its own right. All parameters are boosted when using a scythe as a weapon and extra damage is done when in combat with spirits.

**Semblance:**

Petal Burst - B ()

Bursts into a shower of petals. At higher levels, Ruby can burst items, weapons, and eventually, living things. Usually accompanied by intense speed.

By the authorities granted through the God of Souls, Ruby is able to manifest her soul/aura well past humanity's potential and into the realms of magic when transformed. This ranks up her semblance to inhuman levels to the point that she is a "petal girl".

To make things easier, she uses special incantations to render specific effects.

Examples of spells:

Red like Roses: (Part I, II, III, etc.): Changes the form of her weapon.

Sparkle like Sunflowers: Turns every petal created by her semblance thus far into a magical energy explosion.

Dense like Daisies: Creates a shield around Ruby.

Intense like Ivy: Creates ivy that wraps around the opponent.

Static like Statice: Less of a time stop, and more of a time exchange. The user's time will be halted for every second they spent in the stopped time.

**Weapon:**

Crescent Rose: _The better to reap you with! -_ E-A

The initial prototype of the sniper-scythe-rifle hybrid named Crescent Rose possessed by the God of Souls. Has unlimited ammo, auto-reloads and does not need maintainace even if Ruby still insists on doing so.

Initial form is that of a black and red wand with a curved sharp hilt and a rose at the center. Through her magic, Ruby can change its form to whatever suits her best.

Also, takes the form of a dark wolf pup when not in use.

Sample Parts:

Part I: Default form and Ruby's preferred choice. A sniper-scythe-rifle hybrid that Ruby would have created for her weapon as a Huntress.

Part II: A large broadsword designed like a cutter. Each part can be separated from the sword and wielded as a short blade. When even a scythe just won't cut it anymore.

Part III: A staff that conducts magic the best of all of Crescent Rose's Parts.

Part V: A katana with a blade as thin as an atom. Very hard to wield but can cut through most rogue souls hides.

Part XIII: The BFG of BFGs. Gun within guns within guns.

Happily Ever After: The desire to grab the fairy tale's ending with one's own hand. A pair of gloves that unleash a blast of magical energy powered by a soul's heroic drive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I can't believe I actually got nostalgic for travelling yet here we are. Thanks 2020.
> 
> This came out much different than I had originally planned out. It was supposed to be more akin to a mystery sort of thing with time loops and all but I thought it'd be more fun to do this. And save that plotline for something else.
> 
> You could say Ruby just finished her first season. As mahou shoujo go, you need either a rival mahou shoujo to show up OR a crossover movie. This is kind of the latter. The world does not revolve around Jaune but his actions do need to do some significant effects.
> 
> Ruby's magic is actually rather fun. It's X like X with a dose of alliteration taking into account a flower's meaning. For example, Statice is also known as an 'everlasting flower. Thus it can do a timestop.
> 
> Also, very happy that the added info on the gods from the Fairy Tales of Remnant book does not contradict any of my own plans for this fic. Only shame is that Darkness gave humanity Knowledge apparently. I attributed that to Light because I found it more interesting for the GoD to give humans Choice.


End file.
